Nanoha and the Fairy Tail
by Star of Fate
Summary: War is on the horizon and Nanoha Takamachi is caught in the middle. This year, Nanoha will find herself faced against a useless government, a teacher with a personality like poison, leading a secret society, and coming to terms with her own feelings. And when the year is over, Nanoha must choose where her loyalties truly lie.
1. Devil's Due

**Nanoha and the Fairy Tail**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
>Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter One: Devil's Due<span>**

The hottest day of the season so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square house of Erika Road. Cars that were usually gleaming stood dusty in their drives and lawns that were once emerald green lay parched and yellowing; the use of hosepipes had been banned due to drought. Deprived of their usual car-washing and lawn-mowing pursuits, the inhabitants of Erika Road had retreated into the shade of their cool houses, windows thrown wide in hopes of tempting in a nonexistent breeze. The only person left outside was a teenage girl who was lying flat on his back in a flower bed outside number nine.

She was a skinny, auburn-haired girl who had the pinched, slightly unhealthy look of someone who has grown a lot in a short span of time. Her jeans were torn and dirty, her T-shirt baggy and faded, and the soles of her shoes were peeling away at the seams. Nanoha Takamachi's appearance did not endear her to the neighbors, who were the sort of people who thought scruffiness ought to be punishable by law, but as she had hidden herself behind a large hydrangea bush this evening she was quite invisible to passby. In fact, the only way she would be spotted was if her Uncle Kenji or Aunt Kurima stuck their heads out of the living room window and looked straight down into the flower bed below.

On the whole, Nanoha thought she was to be congratulated on her idea of hiding here. She was not, perhaps, very comfortable lying on the hot, hard earth, but on the other hand, nobody was glaring at her, grinding their teeth so loudly that she could not hear the news, or shooting nasty questions at her, as had happened every time she had tried sitting down in the living room and watching television with her aunt and uncle.

Almost as though this thought had fluttered through the open window, Kenji Henken, Nanoha's uncle, suddenly spoke. "Glad to see the girl's stopped trying to butt in. Where is she anyway?"

"I don't know," said Aunt Kurima unconcernedly. "Not in the house."

Uncle Kenji grunted.

"_Watching the news…_" he said scathingly. "I'd like to know what she's really up to. As if a normal girl cares what's on the news – Kenta hasn't got a clue what's going on, doubt he knows who the Emperor is! Anyway, it's not s if there'd be anything about _her type_ on _our _news – "

"Kenji, _shh_!" said Aunt Kurima, "The window's open!"

"Oh – yes – sorry, dear…"

The Henken's fells silent. Nanoha listened to a jingle about some sugary breakfast cereal while she was watched Ms. Uzuki, the district police captain who lived two streets down, went about her usual patrol of the neighborhood. She was frowning and muttering to herself. Nanoha was very pleased that she was concealed behind the bush; Ms. Uzuki had recently taken to asking her around for tea whenever she met her on the street. She had rounded the corner and vanished from view before Uncle Kenji's voice floated out of the window again.

"Kenta's out for teas?"

"At the Managa's," said Aunt Kurima fondly. "He's got so many little friends, he's so popular…"

Nanoha repressed a snort with difficulty. The Henkens really were astonishingly stupid about their own son, Kenta; they had swallowed all his dim-witted lies about having tea with a different member of his gang every night of the holidays. Nanoha knew perfectly well that Kenta had not been to tea anywhere; he and his gang spent every evening vandalizing the play park, smoking on the street corners, and throwing stones at passing cars and children. Nanoha had seen them at it during her evening walks around Uminari; she had spent most of the holidays wandering the streets, scavenging newspapers from cans along the way.

The opening notes of the music heralded the seven o'clock news reached Nanoha's ears and her stomach turned over. Perhaps tonight – after a month of waiting – would be the night –

"Record numbers of stranded holidaymakers fill airports as the Spanish baggage-handlers' strike reaches its second week – "

"Give 'em a lifelong siesta, I would," snarled Uncle Kenji over the end of the newsreader's sentence, but no matter: Outside in the flower bed, Nanoha's stomach seemed to unclench. If anything had happened, it would surely have been the first item on the news; strange accidents and unexplained phenomenon were more important than stranded holidaymakers…

She let out a long, slow breath and stared up at the brilliant blue sky. Every day this holiday had been the same; the tension, the expectation, the temporary relief, and then the mounting tension again…and always, growing more insistent all the time, the question of _why _nothing had happened yet…

She kept listening, just in case there was some small clue, not recognized for what it really was by the Machlos – non-mage, Nanoha berated herself. She needed to stop using that word; it wasn't right to call them that. Nanoha listened again, but the baggage-handlers' strike was followed by news on the drought in the Southeast (I hope he's listening next door!" bellowed Uncle Kenji, "with his sprinklers on at three in the morning!"); then a helicopter that had almost crashed in a field in Chiyoda, then a famous actress's divorce from her famous husband ("as if we're interested in their sordid affairs," sniffed Aunt Kurima, who had followed the case obsessively in every magazine she could lay her bony hands on).

Nanoha closed her eyes against the now blazing evening sky as the newsreader began talking about an Izu Thrush in Hachijō-jima that learned how to water-ski. Nanoha sighed and opened her eyes again. If they had reached water-skiing birds, there was nothing else worth hearing. Feeling the tiniest bit of hope, Nanoha pulled her her Intelligent Device, Raising Heart, and stared at the red orb gleaming in the sunlight.

"Please tell you have something, Raising Heart," asked Nanoha. "Anything at all."

"**I'm sorry, Master,**" said Raising. "**But no news pertaining to Stern the Destructor or the Hellions has been released at this time.**"

Nanoha groaned. She really should have expected as much. Finally giving up on find any new info, she rolled cautiously onto her front and raised herself onto her knees and elbows, preparing to crawl out from under the window.

She had moved about two inches when several things happened in very quick succession.

A loud, echoing _crack_ broke the sleepy silence like a gunshot; a cat streaked out from under a parked car and flew out of sight; a shriek, a bellowed oath, and the sound of breaking china came from the Henken's living room, and as though Nanoha had been waiting for this signal, she jumped to her feet, at the same time pulling from underneath her shirt a ruby orbed necklace as if she were unsheathing a sword. But before she could draw herself to full height, the top of her head collided with the Henken's open window, and the resultant crash made Aunt Kurima scream even louder.

Nanoha felt as if her head had been split in two; eyes streaming, she swayed, trying to focus on the street and spot the source of the noise, but she had barely staggered upright when two large purple hands reached through the open window and closed tightly around her throat.

"_Put – it – away!_" Uncle Kenji snarled into Nanoha's ear. "_Now! Before – anyone – sees!_"

"Get – off – me!" Nanoha gasped; for a few seconds they struggled, Nanoha pulling at her uncle's sausage-like fingers with her right hand, her left maintaining a firm grip on Raising Heart. Then, as the pain in the top of Nanoha's head gave a particularly nasty throb, Raising Heart uttered a quick "**Defense Mode!**" and Uncle Kenji yelped, releasing Nanoha as though he had received an electric shock – some invisible force seemed to have surged through his niece, making her impossible to hold.

Panting, Nanoha felt forward over the hydrangea bush, straightened up, and stared around. There was no sign of what had caused the loud cracking noise, but there were several faces peering through various nearby windows. Nanoha hastily tied Raising Heart around her neck and hid it under her shirt, trying to look innocent.

"Lovely evening!" shouted Uncle Kenji, waving at Mrs. Number Seven, who was glaring from behind her net curtains. "Did you hear that car backfire just now? Gave Kurima and me quite a turn!"

He continued to grin in a horrible, manic way until all the curious neighbors had disappeared from their various windows, then the grin became a grimace or rage as he beckoned Nanoha back toward him.

Nanoha moved a few steps closer; take care to stop just short of the point at which Uncle Kenji's outstretched hands could resume their strangling.

"What the _devil_ do you mean by it, girl?" asked Uncle Kenji in a croaky voice that trembled with fury.

"What do I mean by what?" said Nanoha coldly. She kept looking left and right up the street, still hoping to see the person who had made the cracking noise.

"Making a racket like a starting pistol outside our – "

"I didn't make that noise," said Nanoha firmly.

Aunt Kurima's thin, horsey face now appeared beside Uncle Kenji's wide, purple one. She looked livid.

"Why were you lurking under our window?"

"Yes – yes, good point, Kurima! _What were you doing under our window, girl?_"

"Listening to the news," said Nanoha in a resigned voice.

Her aunt and uncle exchanged looks of outrage.

"Listening to the news! _Again?_"

"**You see, the news has a funny way of saying something different every day**," said Raising Heart.

"Don't you get clever with me, you…you…thing! I want to know what you're really up to – and don't give me any more of this _listening to the news_ crap! You know perfectly well that _your kind_…"

"Careful, Kenji!" breathed Aunt Kurima, and Uncle Kenji lowered his voice so that Nanoha could barely hear him, "…that _your kind_ don't get on _our _news."

"That's all you know," said Nanoha.

The Henkens goggled at her for a few seconds, then Aunt Kurima said, "You nasty little liar. What are all those – "she too lowered her voice so that Nanoha had to lip-read the next word, " – _fairies – _or whatever you call them – doing if they're not bringing you news?"

"Aha!" said Uncle Kenji in a triumphant whisper. "Get out of that one, girl! As if we didn't know you get all your news from those pestilential bugs!"

Nanoha hesitated for a moment. It cost her something to tell the truth this time, even though her aunt and uncle could not possibly know how bad Nanoha felt at admitting it.

"The Fay…aren't bringing me news," said Nanoha tonelessly.

"I don't believe it," said Aunt Kurima at once.

"No more do I," said Uncle Kenji forcefully.

"We know you're up to something funny," said Aunt Kurima.

"We're not stupid, you know," said Uncle Kenji.

"**Well, **_**that's **_**news to me**," said Raising Heart

And before the Henkens could call her back, Nanoha had wheeled about, crossed the front lawn, stepped over the low garden wall, and was striding off up the street.

She was in trouble now and she knew it. She would have to face her aunt and uncle later and pay the price for her rudeness, but she did not care very much just at the moment; she had much more pressing matters on her mind.

Nanoha was sure that the cracking noise had been made by someone using magic. It sounded similar to the few times she had seen Vette use her specific brand of magic, often to get Nanoha in trouble. Was it possible that Vette was here on Erika Road? Could Vette be following her right at this very moment? As this thought occurred she wheeled around and stared back down Erika Road, but it appeared to be completely deserted again and Nanoha was sure that Vette did not know how to become invisible…

She walked on, hardly aware of the route she was taking, for she had pounded these streets so often lately that her feet carried her to her favorite haunts automatically. Every few steps she glanced back over her shoulder. Someone magical had been near her as she lay among Aunt Kurima's dying begonias, she was sure of it. Why hadn't they spoken to her, why hadn't they made contact, why were they hiding now?

And then, as her feeling of frustration peaked, her certainty leaked away.

Perhaps it hadn't been a magical sound at all. Perhaps she was so desperate for the tiniest sign of contact from the world to which she belonged that she was simply overreacting to perfectly ordinary noises. Could she be _sure _it hadn't been the sound of something breaking inside a neighbor's house?

Nanoha felt a dull, sinking sensation in her stomach and, before she knew it, the feeling of hopelessness that had plagued her all through the holiday rolled over her once again…

Tomorrow morning she would be awoken by the alarm at five o'clock so that she could pay the Fay that delivered the Daily News – but was there any point in continuing to take it? Nanoha merely lanced at the first article before throwing it aside these days; when the idiots who ran the news finally realized that Stern was back it would be headline news, and that was the only kind that Nanoha cared about. Nanoha was tempted to march into the Daily News headquarters and dropped all the letters she had been receiving all holiday on their front desk.

The letters from Stern the Destructor herself.

When Nanoha had left St. Hilde Academy of Magic that year, she and Stern had met properly for the first time in Shibuya. Together they had taken the time to understand one another over a hot cup of tea. Most of their time had been spent with Stern apologizing for what happened at Little Saxony, how unnecessary Alicia's death had truly been. Alicia – Nanoha's chest still hurt thinking about her first love. Stern had been sympathetic to Nanoha's pain and didn't pressure her talk about what they had seen in the light during their brief battle, which Nanoha had been grateful for.

But as the month went by, Stern began writing to Nanoha under the penname Nette Stroder. Though she imagined how her friends would react to knowing that Nanoha had been in contact with the Queen of Darkness, Nanoha wrote back anyway. They talked about that night when they were linked and about what they had seen in that cage of light. Nanoha still felt numb when she imagined the things she saw, and it must have shown in her writing as Nette would often reply with words of comfort and understanding. It was in these times that made it more difficult to think of Stern as her enemy.

If she was lucky, there would also be Fay carrying letters from her friends and roommates to distract her, though any expectation she had that their letters would bring her news had been long since dashed.

"_We can't say much about you-know-what, obviously…" "We've been told not to say anything important in case our letters go astray…" "We're quite busy but I can't give you details here… "There's a fair amount going on, we'll tell you everything when we see you…"_

But when were they going to see her? Nobody seemed to bother with a precise date. Teana had scribbled, "_I expect we'll be seeing you quite soon_" inside her birthday card, but how soon was soon? As far as Nanoha knew could tell from the vague hints in their letters, Fate, Hayate, Teana, and Subaru were in the same place, presumably at the Yagami Orphanage. She could hardly bear to think of them having fun at the Orphanage when she was stuck in Erika Road. In fact, she was so angry at them that she had thrown all their birthday cakes and presents away unopened, though she had regretted this after eating the wilting salad Aunt Kurima had provided for dinner that night.

And what were those four busy with? Why wasn't she, Nanoha, busy? Hadn't she proved herself capable of handling much more than them? Had they all forgotten what she had done? Hadn't it been _she _who had entered that field and been tied to that tree and had her heart literally ripped out and watched Alicia die…?"

_Don't think about that,_" Nanoha told herself sternly for the hundredth time that summer. It was bad enough that she kept revisiting the field in her nightmares, without dwelling on it in her waking moments too.

He turned a corner into Clover Crescent; halfway along she passed the narrow alleyway down the side of a garage where she had clapped eyes on her older half-sister. Arf, at least, seemed to understand how Nanoha was feeling; admittedly her letters were just as empty of proper news as Fate and the others, but at least they contained words of caution and consolation instead of tantalizing hints.

"_I know this must be frustrating for you…" "Keep your nose clean and everything will be okay…" "Be careful and don't do anything stupid…"_

Well, thought Nanoha, as she crossed Clover Crescent, turned into Clover Field, and headed toward the darkening play park, she had (by and large) done as Arf advised; she had at least resisted the temptation to pack all her thinks and use a Dimensional Transfer spell to the Orphanage. In fact Nanoha thought her behavior had been very good considering how frustrated and angry she felt at being stuck in Erika Road this long, reduced to hiding in flower beds in the hope of hearing the unlikely hint to what Stern was doing. Nevertheless, it was quite galling to be told not to do anything stupid by a woman who had served twelve years in the orbital prison, Gefangnis, escaped, smuggled herself into St. Hilde, then attempted to commit the murder she had been convicted for in the first place…

Nanoha vaulted over the locked park gate and set off across the parched grass. The park was as empty as the surrounding streets. When she reached the swings she sank onto the only one that Kenta and his friends had not managed to break, coiled one arm around the chain, and stared moodily at the ground. She would not be able to hide in the Henken's flower bed again. Tomorrow she would have to think of a fresh way of listening to the news. In the meantime, she had nothing to look forward to but another restless, disturbed night, because even when she escaped nightmares about Alicia she had unsettling dreams about long dark corridors, all finishing in dead ends and locked doors, which she supposed had something to do with the trapped feeling she had when she was awake. Often the old scar on her chest prickled uncomfortably, but she did not fool herself into thinking that Stern was nearby – she had made it very clear that she would stay away from Nanoha as long as she was under Carim's eye. A part of Nanoha felt disappointed at that…a small part…

The injustice of it all welled up inside her so that she wanted to yell with fury. If it hadn't been for her, nobody would even have known Stern was back! And her reward was to be stuck in the Uminari City for four solid weeks, completely cut off from the magical world, reduced to squatting among dying begonias so that she could hear about water-skiing thrushes! How could Carim have forgotten her so easily? Why had Fate, Hayate, Teana, and Subaru got together without inviting her along too? How much longer was she supposed to endure Arf telling her to sit tight and be a good girl; or resist the temptation to send Nette's letters to the Daily News? These furious thoughts whirled around in Nanoha's head, and her insides writhed with anger as a sultry, velvety night fell around her, the air full of the smell of warm, dry grass and the only sound that of the grumble of traffic on the road beyond the park railings.

She did not know how long she had sat on the swing before the sound of voices interrupted her musings and she looked up. The streetlamps from the surrounding roads were casting a misty glow strong enough to silhouette a group of people making their way across the park. One of them was singing a loud, crude song. The others were laughing. A soft ticking noise came from several expensive racing bikes that they were wheeling along.

Nanoha knew who those people were. The figure in front was unmistakably her cousin, Kenta Henken, wending his way home, accompanied by his faithful gang.

Kenta was as vast as ever, but a year's hard dieting and the discovery of a new talent had wrought quite a change in his physique. As Uncle Kenji delightedly told anyone who would listen, Kenta had recently become the Junior Heavyweight Inter-School Boxing Champion of the Southeast. "The noble sport," as Uncle Kenji called it, had made Kenta even more formidable than he had seemed to Nanoha in the primary school days when she had served as Kenta's first punching bag. Nanoha was not remotely afraid of her cousin anymore but she still didn't think that Kenta learning to punch harder and more accurately was cause for celebration. Neighborhood children all around were terrified of him – even more terrified than they were of "that Takamachi girl" who, they had been warned, was a hardened hooligan who attended St. Bernard's Secure Center for Incurable Criminal Girls.

Nanoha watched the dark figures crossing the grass and wondered whom they had been beating up tonight. _Look around,_ Nanoha found herself thinking as she watched them. _Come on…look around…I'm sitting here all alone….Come and have a go…._

If Kenta's friends saw her sitting here, they would be sure to make a beeline for her, and what would Kenta do then? He wouldn't want to lose face in front of the gang, but he'd be terrified of provoking Nanoha….It would be really fun to watch Kenta's dilemma; to taunt him, watch him, withim him powerless to respond…and if any of the others tried hitting Nanoha, Nanoha was ready – she had Raising Heart…let them try….She'd love to vent some of her frustrations on the boys who had once made her life hell –

Then she remembered one of Nette's early letters, when she wrote about how much she wanted to hurt them. It was Nette who reminded her that it was the TSAB who used their power to push people around, and that by using her own power against the bullies would make her no different. As tempting as it was, they had a responsibility to not abuse their powers they have been given. They needed to take the high road.

Nanoha took a deep breath and looked down. She was being stupid. Being expelled from St. Hilde…being arrested by the TSAB…it wasn't worth beating up a few schoolyard punks. Kenta's gang's voices died when she looked up; they were out of sight, heading along Clover Field.

_There you go, Onee-chan,_ Nanoha thought dully. _Nothing stupid. Kept my nose clean. Exactly the opposite of what you'd have done…_

She got to her feet and stretched. Aunt Kurima and Uncle Kenji seemed to feel that whenever Kenta turned up was the right time to be home, and any time after that was much too late. Uncle Kenji had threatened to lock Nanoha in the basement again if she came home after Kenta again, so, stifling a yawn, still scowling, Nanoha set off toward the park gate.

Clover Field, like Erika Road, was full of large, square houses with perfectly manicured lawns, all owned by large, square owners who drove very clean cars similar to Uncle Kenji's. Nanoha preferred Uminari City by night, when curtained windows made patches of jewel-bright colors in the darkness and she ran no danger of hearing disapproving mutters about her "delinquent" appearance when she passed the householders. She walked quickly, so that halfway along Clover Field Kenta's gang came into view again; they were saying their farewells at the entrance of Clover Crescent. Nanoha stepped into the shadow of a large sakura tree and waited.

"…squealed like a pig, didn't he?" Akira was saying, to guffaws from the others.

"Nice right hook, Kenny," said Toshi.

"Same time tomorrow?" said Kenta.

"Round at my place, my parents are out," said Taro.

"See you then," said Kenta.

"Bye Ken!"

"See ya, Kenny!"

Nanoha waited for the rest of the gang to move before setting off again. When their voices had faded once more she headed around the corner of Clover Crescent and by walking very quickly she soon came within hailing distance of Kenta, who was strolling along at his ease, humming tunelessly.

"Hey, Kenny!"

Kenta turned.

"Oh," he grunted. "It's you."

"How long have you been 'Kenny', then?" said Nanoha.

"Shut it," snarled Kenta, turning away again.

"Cool name," said Nanoha, grinning and falling into step beside her cousin. "But you'll always be neffy-poo to me."

"I said, SHUT IT!" said Kenta, whose ham-like hands had curled into fists.

"Don't the boys know that's what your mama calls you?"

"Shut your face."

"**Good come back,**" Raising Heart said sarcastically.

"You don't tell _her _to shut her face. What about 'poopy-kins' and 'oogly-bear,' can I use them then?"

Kenta said nothing. The effort of keeping himself from hitting Nanoha seemed to be demanding all his self-control.

"So who've you been beating up tonight?" Nanoha asked, her grin fading. "Another ten –year-old? I know you did Judai Aztin two nights ago – "

"He was asking for it," snarled Kenta.

"Oh yeah?"

"He cheeked me.

"Yeah? Did he say you look like a pig that's been taught to walk on its hind legs? Cause that's not cheek, Ken, that's true…"

"**Master…aren't you taking this a little far…**?" said Raising Heart.

A muscle was twitching in Kenta's jaw. It gave Nanoha enormous satisfaction to know how furious she was making Kenta; she felt as though she was siphoning off her own frustration into her cousin, the only outlet she had.

They turned right down the narrow alleyway where Nanoha had first seen Arf and which formed a shortcut between Clover Crescent and Erika Road. It was empty and much darker than the streets it linked because there was no streetlamps. Their footsteps were muffled between garage walls on one side and a high fence on the other.

"Think you're pretty big carrying that thing, don't you?" Kenta said after a few seconds.

"What thing?"

"That – that thing around your neck."

Nanoha grinned again.

"Not as stupid as you look, are you, Ken? But I suppose if you were, yu wouldn't be able to walk and talk at the same time…"

"**Master, that really is quite enough,**" said Raising Heart.

Nanoha unchained Raising Heart from around her neck, letting it swing in her hand. She saw Kenta look sideways at it.

"You're not allowed," Kenta said at once. "I know you're not. You'd get expelled from that freak school you go to."

"How do you know they haven't changed the rules, Kenny?"

"They haven't," said Kenta, though he didn't sound completely convinced. Nanoha laughed softly.

"You haven't got the guts to take me on without that thing, have you?" Kenta snarled.

"Whereas you just need four goons behind you before you can beat up a ten-year-old. You know that boxing title you keep bragging about? How old was your opponent? Seven? Eight?"

"He was sixteen for your information," snarled Kenta, "and he was out cold for twenty minutes after I'd finished with him and he was twice as heavy as you. You just wait till I tell dad you had that thing out – "

"Running to daddy now, are you? Is his little boxing champ frightened of nasty Nanoha's necklace?"

"**Master, please stop this,**" Raising Heart pleaded.

Not this brave at night, are you?" sneered Kenta.

"This _is _night, poopy-kins. That's what we call it when it goes all dark like this."

"I mean when you're in bed!" Kenta snarled.

He had stopped walking. Nanoha stopped too, staring at her cousin. From the little she could see of Kenta's large face, he was wearing a strangely triumphant look.

"What do you mean, I'm not brave in bed?" said Nanoha, completely nonplussed. "What – am I supposed to be frightened of pillows or something?"

"I heard you last night," said Kenta breathlessly. "Talking in your sleep. _Whimpering._"

"What do you mean?" Nanoha said again, but there was a cold, plunging sensation in her stomach. She had revisited the field last night in her dreams.

Kenta gave a harsh bark of laughter then adopted a high-pitched, whimpering voice. "'Don't die, Alicia-chan! Don't die, Alicia-chan!' Who's Alicia – your girlfriend?"

"I – you're lying – " said Nanoha automatically. But her mouth had gone dry. She knew Kenta wasn't lying – how else would he know about Alicia?"

"'Help me! I don't want to die! Somebody save me! Boo-hoo!"

"Shut up," said Nanoha quietly. "Shut up, Kenta, I'm warning you!"

"Come and help me, somebody! Please come help me! Alicia-chan's dead! Help me! She's going to – ' _Put me down!_"

Kenta was thrown back into the alley wall. Nanoha lifted him a foot of the ground by his shirt. Raising Heart was saying something, but Nanoha had tuned her out. Nanoha could feel fourteen years' hatred of Kenta pounding in her veins – what wouldn't he give to strike now, to curse Kenta so thoroughly he'd have to crawl home like an insect, struck dumb, sprouting feelers – Nanoha could feel her Hollow Mask taking shape.

"Don't ever talk about that again," Nanoha growled her satanic voice. "Do you understand me?

"Put me down you freak!"

"I said, _do you understand me?_"

"_Put me down!_"

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

"PUT ME DO – "

Kenta gave an odd, shuddering gasp, as though he had been doused in icy water.

Something had happened to the night. The star-strewn indigo sky was suddenly pitch-black and lightless – the stars, the moon, the misty streetlamps at either end of the alley had vanished. The distant grumble of cars and the whisper of trees had gone. The balmy evening was suddenly piercingly, bitingly cold. They were surrounded by total, impenetrable, silent darkness that even Nanoha had difficulty seeing through her mask, as though some giant hand had dropped a thick, icy mantle over the entire alleyway.

For a split second, Nanoha thought she had done magic without meaning to, despite the fact that she'd been resisting as hard as she could – then her reason caught up with her sense – she didn't have the power to turn off the stars. She turned her head this way and that, trying to see something, but the darkness pressed on her eyes like a weightless veil.

Kenta's terrified voice broke in Nanoha's ear.

"W-what are you d-doing? St-stop it!"

"I'm not doing anything! Shut up and don't move!

"I c-can't see! I've g-gone blind! I – "

"I said shut up!"

Nanoha stood stock-still, turning her Hollowed eyes left and right. the old was so intense that she was shivering all over; goose bumps had erupted up her arms, and the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up – she opened her eyes to the fullest extent, staring blankly around…

"It was impossible….They couldn't be here….Not on Earth….She strained her ears….She would hear them before she saw them….

"I'll t-tell dad!" Kenta whimpered. "W-where are you? What are you d-do - ?"

"Will you shut up?" Nanoha hissed, "I'm trying to lis – "

"**Motion detected four meters north, Master!**" said Raising Heart.

Nanoha fell silent. Then she heard just the thing she had been dreading.

There was something in the alleyway apart from themselves, something that was drawing long, hoarse, rattling breaths. Nanoha felt a horrible jolt of dread as she stood trembling in the freezing air.

"C-cut it out! Stop doing it! I'll h-hit you, I swear I will!"

"Kenta, shut – "

_WHAM!_

A fist made contact with the side of Nanoha's head, lifting Nanoha off her feet. Small white lights popped in front of Nanoha's eyes; for the second time in an hour she felt as though her head had been cleaved in two; next moment she had landed hard on the ground, a crack formed on her mask.

"You dumbass, Kenta!" Nanoha yelled, her eyes watering with pain, as she scrambled to her hands and knees. She heard Kenta blundering away, hitting the alley fence, stumbling.

"KENTA, COME BACK! YOU'RE RUNNING RIGHT AT IT!"

There was a horrible squealing yell, and Kenta's footsteps stopped. At the same moment, Nanoha felt a creeping chill behind her that could only mean one thing. There was more than one.

"KENTA, TURN AROUND! YOU'RE GOING TO RUN RIGHT INTO IT! Raising Heart!" Nanoha shouted frantically; Raising Heart shifted to its staff form in her hand. "_**Divine Light**_!"

She said the spell automatically, desperate for the light that even her Hollow Mask could not provide – and to her immense relief, light from the jeweled head of Raising Heart. Nanoha scrambled to her feet, and turned around. Her stomach turned over just as well.

A lanky, shadow creature was crawling along the wall like an insect, twisting its road head completely around, its bulbous yellow eyes peering into Nanoha's golden ones, its antenna twitching restlessly.

Stumbling backwards, Nanoha felt the jaw of her mask tear open and shouted:

"_**Cero!**_"

A beam of red spiritual energy flew from Nanoha's mouth toward the Heartless, but the Heartless skillfully flipped off the wall, narrowly avoiding the beam; the Cero burned through the stone wall with ease. The Heartless clung to the fence and Nanoha retreated farther as it bore down on her, a familiar panic fogging her brain –

"_**Cero!**_"

Her voice sounded dim and distant….Another beam of red energy, feebler than the last – the Heartless did not dodge, but slapped away the attack like an annoying fly. The Heartless dropped to the ground and towered over her – she couldn't do it anymore, she couldn't fight back -

Images flashed in Nanoha brain. The moonlit field stood out so clear….She could feel the Heartless's cold, nonexistent breath on her skin, filling her own lungs, drowning her – _Concentrate…don't stop fighting…_.But Nanoha didn't want to fight anymore…so was so tired of fighting….The Heartless's icy fingers were closing on her throat – the images kept flashing in her mind like a poorly crafted film - the field…the light…Mikoto…Alicia…

She was never going to see her friends again. She would never again see Subaru's shining smile or hear another one of Teana's lectures. She would never catch Hayate sneaking snapshots under her skirt –

She'd never see Fate again –

Nanoha ripped the Heartless's hands away from her throat and pulled it closer by its head under they were staring each other straight in the eye –

"_**CERO!**_"

Nanoha's most powerful blast yet burned through the Heartless's face, melting away the shadows and lighting the alleyway in crimson. Nanoha dropped the Heartless carcass on the ground – it would evaporate into shadow soon enough. Wheeling around, she sprinted down the alleyway, holding Raising Heart aloft.

"KENTA? KENTA!"

She had run barely a dozen steps when she reached them: Kenta was curled on the ground, his arms clamped over his face, a second Heartless was crouching low over him, gripping his wrists in its chilling hands, prying them slowly, almost lovingly apart, forcing Kenta's face to turn towards it until they were looking into each other's eyes.

"NO!" Nanoha bellowed.

Nanoha began to rush the Heartless with another Cero rising up in her stomach. Then suddenly, a flash of silver filled the dark alley and the Heartless stumbled backwards, flailing the stumps of where its hands once were. Nanoha stopped in her tracks and watched; there was another person – another human – there with them. The Heartless hissed and lunged at the stranger. Another flash of silver and the Heartless was cleaved in half, disintegrating into the darkness.

Moon, stars, and streetlamps burst back to life. A warm breeze swept the alleyway. Trees rustled in neighborhood gardens and the mundane rumble of cars in Clover Crescent filled the air again. Nanoha stood quite still, all her sense vibrating, taking in the abrupt return to normality. After a moment she became aware that her T-shirt was sticking to her; she was drenched in sweat.

She could not believe it what had just happened. Heartless _here_, in Uminari City…

Kenta lay curled up on the ground, whimpering and shaking. The stranger bent down to see whether he was in fit state to stand up, which gave Nanoha the chance to look over their rescuer. Wearing a black, form-fitting uniform underneath a gray flak jacket, they reminded Nanoha of those secret security-type people from one of Hayate's manga – the one about ninjas. She was wearing a mask that made Nanoha think of a puppy – it was kind of cute.

The masked stranger turned around to Nanoha then slowly stood up, removing the mask from their face. Nanoha stepped back, a shocked look behind her own mask. Yūgao Uzuki blank gaze bore down on Nanoha, looking almost as disapproving as she always did. Setting aside the fact that the district police captain was running around dressed as a ninja, Nanoha became aware of her present state. She made to stow her mask and Raising Heart out of sight, but –

"Don't put them away, stupid girl!" she snapped. "What if there are more of them around? Oh, I'm going to _kill_ Argit when I find that little rat!"

* * *

><p><strong>Letters from the enemy, a Heartless attack, and a policewoman secretly a ninja – if that's not a way to start off the year, then I don't know what is. Trapped in the middle of a war of morals between two powerful forces, Nanoha's life has never been more confusing of dangerous. In the next chapter, Nanoha must deal with the consequences of her actions and realize her own faults. Why have the Heartless attacked Uminari City? How long has Uzuki been spying on her? And how long will it be before Nanoha becomes a danger to herself? Find out on the next thrilling chapter of Nanoha and the Fairy Tail!<strong>

**Please, read and review.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Nanoha's Corner~<strong>_

**#1: The Letter**

Since she had met Stern in the train station of Shibuya, the two of them had really taken the time to get to know each other, mostly through the letters that they had sent one another. Every time Stern – under the alias of Nette – wrote back, it made Nanoha realize more and more how wrong the TSAB really was about her. Stern had so many great ideas about how to create a better world: abolish the ranking system to grant access for all people, attempt free trading negotiations with Non-Administrated worlds, and permit the use of technology to all species – not just humans. Had Stern not planned to wipe all magic from the universe, Nanoha would admit that she would have joined her side in a heartbeat.

But there was one thing that Nanoha had wanted to ask for a long time. And now, after a month of exchanging letters, Nanoha finally asked. She had waited patiently for the next three days, staring out the window hoping to see Lucy come flying home, hopefully with a letter in her hands.

So on the fourth day, when Lucy finally returned perched on top of her cage, carrying a small envelope, Nanoha ripped the message open like a child on Saint King's Day. As her eyes looked over the letter, a deep frown formed.

_**Dear Nanoha,**_

_**I will NOT give you my limited edition golden edged White Devil (Outsider Version) trading card. I don't care if you need it to complete your Outsider collection; I found it fair and square. Though it you happen to find a limited edition silver Black Devil trading card for my Material collection, I might be open for discussion. I will accept nothing less, so stop asking!**_

_**Sincerely,**_

_**Nette**_

"A _Black _Devil?" Nanoha shrieked outrageously. "I knew she was evil!"


	2. Messages

**Nanoha and the Fairy Tail**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
>Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter Two: Messages<span>**

"What?" said Nanoha blankly.

"He left!" said Captain Uzuki, wringing her hands. "Left to see someone about a batch of ISO-8 that fell off the back of the Green Goblin's glider! I told him I'd roast him on a spit if he went, and now look! Heartless! It's lucky I happened to be in the area! But we haven't got time to stand around! Hurry, now, we've got to get you back! Oh, the trouble this is going to cause! I will _kill _him!"

"But – "

The revelation that her strict, by-the-book police officer of a neighbor knew what Heartless were was almost as big a shock to Nanoha as meeting two of them down the alleyway. "You're – you're a _mage_?"

"No. I do not have any magical talent, but I am a trained Shinobi of the ANBU. It was my decision to use Argit for surveillance while you are staying at your relative's house. I thought his ferrety nature would be useful. But of course that rat left you completely without cover when I _warned _him – "

"This guy Argit has been following me? Hang on – it was _him_! He made that noise from the front of my house when he left!"

"Yes, yes , _yes_, but luckily I'd stationed my familiar – a cat – under a car just in case, and she came and warned me, but by the time I got to your house you were gone – and now – oh, _what's_ Carim-sama going to say? You!" she shrieked at Kenta, still supine on the alley floor. "Get your fat ass off the ground, quick!"

"You know Carim-sama?" said Nanoha, staring at her.

"Of course I know Carim-sama, who doesn't know Carim-sama? But come _on _- we can't stand around and wait for more to show up. I can barely hold my own against one."

She stooped down, seized one of Kenta's massive arms, and tugged.

"Get _up_, you useless lump, get _up_!"

But Kenta either could not or would not move. He was still on the ground, trembling and ashen-faced, his mouth shut very tight.

"I'll do it." Nanoha took hold of Kenta's arms and heaved. With an enormous effort she managed to hoist Kenta to his feet. Kenta seemed to be on the point of fainting: his small eyes were rolling in their sockets and sweat was beading his face; the moment Nanoha let go of him, he swayed dangerously.

"Hurry up!" said Captain Uzuki impatiently.

Nanoha pulled one of Kenta's massive arms around her shoulders and dragged him toward the road, sagging slightly under his weight. Captain Uzuki tottered along in front of them, peering anxiously around the corner with a hand on her sword.

"Keep your Device out," she told Nanoha, as they entered Magnolia Walk. "Never mind the Stature of Secrecy now, there's going to be hell to pay anyway, we might as well be hanged for a dragon as an egg. Talk about the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Magic….This was _exactly _what Carim-sama was afraid of – what's that at the end of the street? Oh, it's just Pryce….Don't put your Device away, girl, don't I keep telling I can't use magic?"

It was not easy to hold Raising Heart steady and carry Kenta along at the same time. Nanoha gave her cousin an impatient dig in the ribs, but Kenta seemed to have lost all desire for independent movement. He was slumped on Nanoha's shoulder, his large feet dragging along the ground.

"Why didn't you tell me that you know Carim-sama, that you know about the magical world?" Nanoha asked Captain Uzuki, panting with the effort to keep walking. "All those times I came around your house – why didn't you say anything?"

"Carim-sama's orders. I was to keep an eye on you but not say anything, you were too young. I'm sorry I gave you such a miserable time, but the Henkens would never have let you come if they'd thought you enjoyed it. It wasn't easy, you know….But when Carim-sama hears about this – how could Argit have left, he was supposed to be on duty until midnight – _where is he_? How am I going to tell Carim-sama what's happened, I can't use Transfer spells – "

"I have a Fay, you can borrow her," Nanoha groaned, wondering whether her spine was going to snap under Kenta's weight.

"Nanoha, you don't understand! Carim-sama will need to act as quickly as possible, the Bureau have their own way of detecting underage magic, they'll know already, you mark my words – "

"But I was getting rid of the Heartless, I had to use magic – they're going to be more worried what Heartless were doing crawling around a Non-Administrated world, right?"

"I wish it were that easy, but I'm afraid – ARGIT, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU FILTY RODENT!"

There was a loud crack and a strong smell of raw sewage and cheap cologne filled the air as a squat, porcupine-like man in ragged clothing materialized right in front of them. His wormy tail was wiggling excitedly, his long spiny hair standing up straight, and his small beady eyes narrowed on a bundle of credit cards he was shuffling in his hands.

"'S'up, Cap?" he said, staring from Captain Uzuki to Nanoha and Kenta. "What happened to staying undercover?"

"I'll give you undercover!" cried Captain Uzuki. She withdrew her sword and stabbed it underneath Argit's chin; the porcupine alien shivered. "_Heartless, _you useless, filthy sneak thief!"

"Heartless?" repeated Argit, aghast. "Heartless here?

"Yes, here, you worthless pile of rat shit, here!" shrieked Captain Uzuki. "Heartless attacking the girl on your watch!"

"Uh…," said Argit weakly, looking from Captain Uzuki to Nanoha and back again. "Uh…the thing is…"

"And you go off selling stolen isotopes! Didn't I tell you not to go? _Didn't I_?"

"I – well, I – " Argit looked deeply uncomfortable. "It…it was a very good business opportunity, see…."

Captain Uzuki pulled back her hand and, in a flash of silver, swiped her sword just an inch above Argit's head, cutting off several of his spiny hairs. Agrit Squeaked. Captain Uzuki didn't seem to think that was enough and slapped the credit Cards out of Argit's hands before stomping on them and crushing them into the dirt. Argit cried tragically as he tried to scoop up the remains of his profit, but Captain Uzuki pulled him up by the back of his collar, forcing them to look directly in the eye.

"Someone has to tell Carim-sama what happened," Captain Uzuki said in a poisonous tone. "And guess who just volunteered? You're going to tell her exactly what happened tonight, including the part where you abandoned the girl on your shift."

"Keep your mask on!" said Argit, pulling himself out of Captain Uzuki's hand. "I'm going, I'm going!"

And with another loud crack, he vanished.

"I hope Carim-sama _murders _him!" said Captain Uzuki furiously. "Now come _on_, Nanoha, what are you waiting for?"

Nanoha decided not to waste her remaining breath on pointing out that she could barely walk under Kenta's bulk. She gave a the semiconscious Kenta a heave and staggered onward.

"I'll take you to the door," said Captain Uzuki, as they turned into Erika Road. "Just in case there are more of them around….Oh my Saint King, what a catastrophe…and you had to fight them off…and Carim-sama said we were to keep you from doing magic at all costs….Well, it's no good crying over spilled milk, I suppose…"

"So," Nanoha panted, "Carim-sama's…been having…me followed?"

"Of course she has," said Captain Uzuki impatiently. "Did you expect her to let you wander around on your own after what happened in January? Saint King, girl, they told me you were intelligent….Right…get inside and stay there," she said as they reached number nine. "I expect someone will be in touch with you soon enough."

"What are you going to do?" asked Nanoha quickly.

"I'm going straight home," said Captain Uzuki, staring around the dark street. "I'll need to wait for more instructions. Just stay in the house. Good night."

"Hang on, don't go yet! I want to know – "

"But Captain Uzuki had already vanished in a flash of movement, silent as the night itself.

"Wait!" Nanoha shouted after her; she had a million questions to ask anyone who was in contact with Carim. Scowling, Nanoha readjusted Kenta on her should and made her slow, painful way up number nine's garden path.

The hall light was on. Nanoha reverted Raising Heart to her stand-by form, tucked it under her T-shirt, rang the bell, and watched Aunt Kurima's outline grow larger and larger, oddly distorted by the rippling glass in the front door.

"Kenta! About time too, I was getting quite – quite – _Kenta, what's the matter_?"

Nanoha looked sideways at Kenta and ducked out from under his arm just in time. Kenta swayed for a moment on the spot, his face pale green, then he opened his mouth at last and vomited all over the doormat.

"KENTA! Kenta, what's the matter with you? Kenji! KENJI!"

Nanoha's uncle came galumphing out of the living room, walrus mustache blowing hither and thither as it always did when he was agitated. He hurried forward to help Aunt Kurima negotiate a weak-kneed Kenta over the threshold while avoiding stepping n the pool of vomit.

"He's sick, Kenji!"

"What is it, son? What happened? Did Mrs. Managa give you some foreign tea? It better not have been English."

"Why are you all covered in dirt, darling? Have you been lying on the ground?"

Hang on – you haven't been mugged, have you, son?"

Aunt Kurima screamed.

"Call the police, Kenji! Call the Police! Kenta, darling, speak to mommy! What did they do to you?"

In all the commotion, nobody seemed to have noticed Nanoha, which suited her perfectly. She managed to slip inside just before Uncle Kenji slammed the door and while the Henkens made their noisy progress down the hall toward the kitchen, Nanoha moved carefully and quietly toward the stairs.

"Who did it, son? Give us names. We'll get them, don't worry."

"Shh! He's trying to say something, Kenji! What is it, Kenta? Tell mommy!"

Nanoha's foot was on the bottommost stair when Kenta found his voice.

"_Her._"

Nanoha froze, foot on the stair, face screwed up, braced for the explosion.

"GIRL! COME HERE!"

With a feeling on mingled dread and anger, Nanoha removed her foot slowly from the stair and turned to follow the Henkens.

The scrupulously clean kitchen had an oddly unreal glitter after the darkness outside. Aunt Kurima was ushering Kenta into a chair; he was still very green and clammy looking. Uncle Kenji was standing in front of the draining board, glaring at Nanoha through tiny, narrowed eyes.

"What have you done to my son?" he said in a menacing growl.

"Nothing," said Nanoha, knowing perfectly well that Uncle Kenji wouldn't believe her.

"What did he do to you, Kenta?" Aunt Kurima said in a quavering voice, now sponging vomit from the front of Kenta's leather jacket. "Was it – was it you-know-what, darling? Did she use – her _thing_?"

"**Do you know inappropriate that sounded?**" said Raising Heart; Nanoha hushed her.

Slowly, tremulously, Kenta nodded.

"I didn't!" Nanoha said sharply, as Aunt Kurima let out a wail and Uncle Kenji raised his fists. "I didn't do anything to him, it wasn't me, it was – "

But at that precise moment a large-winged Fay swooped in through the kitchen window. Narrowly missing the top of Uncle Kenji's head, it soared across the kitchen, dropped the large letter envelope it was carrying in its tiny hands at Nanoha's feet, and turned gracefully, the tips of its wings jut brushing the top of the fridge, then zoomed outside again and off across the garden.

"FAIRIES! Bellowed Uncle Kenji, the well-worn vein in his temple pulsing angrily as he slammed the kitchen window shut. "FAIRIES AGAIN! I WILL NOT HAVE ANY MORE OF THOSE INSECTS IN MY HOUSE!"

"**Why does everyone call them insects?**" said Raising Heart.

But Nanoha was already ripping open the envelope and pulling out the letter inside, her heart pounding somewhere in the region of her throat.

_**Dear Ms. Takamachi,**_

_**We have received intelligence that you performed a Hollow-based spell – Cero – at twenty three minutes past nine this evening on a Non-Administrated World and in the presence of a Machlos.**_

_**The severity of this breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Undergae Magic has resulted in your expulsion from St. Hilde's Academy of Magic. Bureau representatives will be coming at your place of residence shortly to destroy your Intelligent Device.**_

_**As you have already received an official warning for a previous offense under section 13 of the Interdimensional Confederation of Mages' Statute of Secrecy, we regret to inform you that yoru presence isrequired at a disciplinary hearing at the Time-Space Administration Bureau at 9 A.M. on the March 24**__**th**__**.**_

_**Hoping you are well,**_

_**Yours sincerely,**_

**_Serena Earls_**_**  
><strong>_**_Magical Observation Department_**_**  
><strong>_**_Time-Space Administration Bureau_**

Nanoha read the letter through twice. She was only vaguely aware of Uncle Kenji and Aunt Kurima talking in the vicinity. Inside her head, all was icy and numb. One fact had penetrated her consciousness like a paralyzing dart. She was expelled from St. Hilde. It was all over. She was never going back.

She looked up at the Henkens. Uncle Kenji was purple-faced, shouting, his fist still raised; Aunt Kruima had her arms around Kenta, who was vomiting again.

Nanoha's temporarily stupefied brain seemed to reawaken. _Bureau representatives will be coming at your place of residence shortly to destroy your Intelligent Device._ They were going to destroy Raising Heart; she was the only friend Nanoha had left; she wouldn't let them take her away. There was only one thing for it. She would have to run – now. Where she was going to go, Nanoha didn't know, but she was certain of one thing: At St. Hilde or outside it, she needed Raising Heart. In an almost dreamlike state, she tugged on Raising Heart's binding and turned to leave the kitchen.

"Where do you think you're going?" yelled Uncle Kenji. When Nanoha didn't reply, he pounded across the kitchen to block the doorway into the hall. "I haven't finished with you, girl!"

"Get out of the way," said Nanoha quietly.

"You're going to stay here and explain how my son – "

"If you don't get out of the way I'm going to curse you," said Nanoha, bring Raising Heart into view.

"You can't pull that one on me!" snarled Uncle Kenji. "I know you're not allowed to use it outside that madhouse you call a school!"

"That madhouse has thrown me out," said Nanoha. "So I can do whatever I like. You've got three seconds. One – two – "

A resounding **_crack _**filled the kitchen; Aunt Kurima screamed, Uncle Kenji yelled and ducked, but for the third time that night Nanoha was looking for the source of a disturbance she had not made. She spotted it at once: A dazed and ruffled-looking Fay was sitting on the kitchen sill, having just collided with the closed window.

Ignoring Uncle Kenji's anguished yell of "FAIRIES!" Nanoha crossed the room at a run and wrenched the window open again. The Fay held out a small roll of paper, shook its head, and took off the moment Nanoha had accepted the paper. Hands shaking, Nanoha unfurled the second message, which was written very hastily and blotchily in black ink.

_**Nanoha – **_

_**Carim's just arrived at the Bureau, and she's trying to sort it all out. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR AUNT AND UNCLE'S HOUSE. DO NOT DO ANY MORE MAGIC. DO NOT SURRENDER YOUR DEVICE.**_

_**Zafira Yagami**_

Carim was trying to sort it all out….What did that mean? How much power did Carim have to override the Time-Space Administration Bureau? Was there a chance she might be allowed back to St. Hilde, then? A small shot of hope burgeoned in Nanoha's chest, almost immediately strangled by panic – how was she supposed to refuse to surrender Raising Heart without doing magic? She'd have to duel with the Bureau representatives, and if she did that, she'd be lucky to escape Gefangnis, let alone expulsion.

Her mind was racing….She could run for it and risk being captured by the Bureau, or stay put and wait for them to find her here. She was much more temped by the former course, but she knew that Zafira had her best interests at heart…and, after all, Carim had sorted out much worse than this before….

"Right," Nanoha said, "I've changed my mind, I'm staying."

She flung herself down at the kitchen table and faced Kenta and Aunt Kurima. The Henkens appeared taken aback at her abrupt change of mind. Aunt Kurima glanced despairingly at Uncle Kenji. The vein in Uncle Kenji's purple temple was throbbing worse than ever.

"Who are all these damn bugs from?" he growled.

"**Seriously, why does everyone call them bug?**" said Raising Heart.

"The first one was from the Time-Space Administration Bureau, expelling me," said Nanoha calmly; she was straining her ears to catch noises outside in case the Bureau representatives were approaching, and it was easier and quieter to answer Uncle Kenji questions than to have him start raging and bellowing. "The second one was from my friend Hayate's older brother, he works at the Bureau."

"_Time-Space Administration Bureau_?" bellowed Uncle Kenji. "People like you in _government_? Oh this explains everything, no wonder the country's gone to the dogs…."

Nanoha didn't bother to correct him in saying that the Bureau had no interest in Earth matters. When Nanoha didn't respond, Uncle Kenji glared at her, then spat," And why have you been expelled?"

"Because I did magic."

"AHA!" roared Uncle Kenji, slamming his fist down on the top of the fridge, which sprang open; several of Kenta's low-fat snacks toppled out and burst on the floor. "So you admit it! _What did you do to Kenta?_"

"Nothing," said Nanoha, slightly less calmly. "That wasn't me – "

"_Was_," muttered Kenta unexpectedly, and Uncle Kenji and Aunt Kurima instantly made flapping gestures at Nanoha to quiet her while they both bent low over Kenta.

"Go on, son," said Uncle Kenji, "what did she do?"

"Tell us, darling," whispered Aunt Kurima.

"She made that weird mask thing – the one she used on Aunt Yumi couple years ago," Kenta mumbled.

"Yeah, I did, but I didn't use – " Nanoha began angrily, but…

"SHUT UP!" roared Uncle Kenji and Aunt Kurima in unison. "Go on, son," repeated Uncle Kenji, mustache blowing about furiously.

"All dark," Kenta said hoarsely, shuddering. "Everything dark. And then I h-heard…_things._ Inside m-my head…"

Uncle Kenji and Aunt Kurima exchanged looks of utter horror. If their least favorite thing in the world was magic, closely followed by neighbors who cheated more than they did on the hosepipe ban, people who heard voices were definitely in the bottom ten. They obviously thought Kenta was losing his mind.

"What sort of things did you hear?" breathed Aunt Kurima, very white-faced and with tears in her eyes.

But Kenta seemed incapable of saying. He shuddered again and shook his large head, and despite the sense of numb dread that had settled on Nanoha since the arrival of the first Fay, she felt a certain curiosity. Heartless caused a person to relieve their worst moments of their life….What would spoiled, pampered, bullying Kenta have been forced to hear?

"How come you fell over, son?" said Uncle Kenji in an unnaturally quiet voice, the kind of voice he would adopt at the bedside of a very sick person.

"T-tripped," said Kenta shakily. "And then – "

He gestured at his massive chest. Nanoha understood: Kenta was remembering the clammy cold that filled the lungs as hope and happiness were sucked out of you.

"Horrible," croaked. "Cold. Really cold."

"Okay," said Uncle Kenji in a voice of forced calm, while Aunt Kurima laid an anxious hand on Kenta's forehead to feel his temperature. "What happened then, Kenta?"

"Felt…felt…felt…as if…as if…"

"As if you'd never be happy again," Nanoha supplied tonelessly.

"Yes," Kenta whispered, still trembling.

"So," said Uncle Kenji, voice restored to full and considerable volume as he straightened up. "So you put some crackpot spell on my son so he'd hear voices and believe he was – was doomed to misery, or something, did you?"

"How many times do I have to tell you?" said Nanoha, temper and voice rising together. "_It wasn't me!_ It was a couple of Heartless!"

"A couple of - what are you going on about?"

"Heart – less," said Nanoha slowly and clearly. "Two of them."

"And what the hell are Heartless?"

"They guard the orbital prison, Gefangnis," said Aunt Kurima.

Two seconds' ringing silence followed these words and then Aunt Kurima clapped her hand over her mouth as though she had slipped a disgusting swear word. Uncle Kenji was goggling at her. Nanoha's brain reeled. Captain Uzuki was one thing – but _Aunt Kurima_?

"**Shit just got real!**" said Raising Heart. Nanoha stared. "**What? Deadpool can say it and I can't**?"

"How do you know that?" Nanoha asked Aunt Kurima, astonished.

Aunt Kurima looked quite appalled with herself. She glanced at Uncle Kenji in fearful apology, the lowered her hand slightly to reveal her horsey teeth.

"I heard – that awful person – telling _her _about them – years ago," she said jerkily.

"If you mean my mom and dad, why don't you use their names?" said Nanoha loudly, but Aunt Kurima ignored her. She seemed horribly flustered.

Nanoha was stunned. Except for one outburst years ago, in the course of which Aunt Kurima had screamed that Nanoha's mother had been a freak, she had never heard her mention her sister. She was astounded that she had remembered this scrap of information about the magical world for so long, when she usually put all her energies into pretending it didn't exist.

Uncle Kenji opened his mouth, closed it again, opened it once more, shut it, then, apparently struggling to remember how to talk, opened it for a third time and croaked, "So – so – they – er – they – er –they actually exist, do they – er - Heartless or whatever?"

Aunt Kurima nodded.

Uncle Kenji looked from Aunt Kurima to Kenta to Nanoha as if hoping somebody was going to shout "April Fools!" When nobody did, he opened his mouth yet again, but was spared the struggle to find more words by the arrival of the third Fay of the evening, which zoomed through the still-open window like a feathery cannonball and landed with a clatter on the kitchen table, causing all three of the Henkens to jump with fright. Nanoha tore a second official-looking envelope from the Fay's hands and ripped it open as the Fay swooped back out into the night.

"Enough – effing – _fairies…_" muttered Uncle Kenji distractedly, stomping over to the window and slamming it shut again.

_**Dear Mrs. Takamachi,**_

_**Further to our letter of approximately twenty-two minutes ago, the Time-Space Administration Bureau has revised its decision to destroy your Intelligent Device forthwith. You may retain your Intelligent Device until your disciplinary hearing on 24**__**th**__** March, at which time an official decision will be taken.**_

_**Following discussions with the Headmistress of Saint Hilde's Academy of Magic, the Bureau has agreed that the question of your expulsion will also be decided at that time. You should therefore consider yourself suspended from school pending further inquires.**_

_**With best wishes,**_

_**Yours sincerely,**_

**_Serena Earls_**_**  
><strong>_**_Magical Observation Department_**_**  
><strong>_**_Time-Space Administration Bureau_**

Nanoha read this letter through three times in quick succession. The miserable knot in her chest loosened slightly at the thought that she was not definitely expelled, though her fears were by no means banished. Everything seemed to hang on this hearing on the twelfth of May.

"Well?" said Uncle Kenji, recalling Nanoha to her surroundings. "What now? Have they sentenced you to anything? Do you kind have the death penalty?" he added as a hopeful afterthought.

"I've got to go to a hearing," said Nanoha.

"And they'll sentence you there?"

"I suppose so."

"I won't give up hope, then," said Uncle Kenji nastily.

"Well, if that's all," said Nanoha, getting to her feet. She was desperate to be alone, to think, perhaps to send a letter to her friends, sister…and maybe even Stern.

"NO, IT DAMN WELL IS NOT ALL!" bellowed Uncle Kenji. "SIT BACK DOWN!"

"What _now?_" said Nanoha impatiently.

"KENTA!" roared Uncle Kenji. "I want to know exactly what happened to my son!"

"FINE!" yelled Nanoha, and in her temper, pink sparks erupted out of Raising Heart, still clutched in her hand. All three Henkens flinched, looking terrified.

"Kenta and I were in the alleyway between Clover Crescent and Magnolia Walk," said Nanoha, speaking fast, fighting to control her temper. "Kenta thought he'd be smart with me, I shoved him into the wall as my Hollow Mask started forming, but I didn't hurt him. Then two Heartless turned up – "

"But what ARE those things?" asked Uncle Kenji furiously. "What do they DO?"

"I told you – they suck all the happiness out of you," said Nanoha," and if they get the chance, they'll take your heart and turn you into one of them – "

Aunt Kurima uttered a soft scream.

"His _heart_? They didn't take – he's still got his – "

She seized Kenta by the shoulders and shook him, as though testing to see whether she could hear his heart rattling around inside him.

"Of course they didn't get his heart, you'd know if they had," said Nanoha, exasperated.

"Fought 'em off, did you, son?" said Uncle Kenji loudly, with the appearance of a man struggling to bring the conversation back onto a plane he understood. "Gave 'em the old one-two, did you?"

"You can't give a Heartless _the old one-two_," said Nanoha through clenched teeth.

"Why's he all right, then?" blustered Uncle Kenji. "Why isn't he one of them, then?"

"Because I used a Cero – "

_WHOOSH!_ With a clatter, a whirring of wings, and a soft fall of dust, a fourth Fay came shooting out of the fireplace.

"FOR GOD'S SAKE!" roared Uncle Kenji, pulling great clumps of hair out of his mustache, something he hadn't been driven to in a long time. "I WILL NOT HAVE FAIRIES HERE, I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS, I TELL YOU!"

But Nanoha was already pulling a roll of paper from the Fay's back. She was so convinced that this letter had been from Carim, explaining everything – the Heartless, Captain Uzuki, what the Bureau was up to, how she, Carim, intended to sort everything out – that for the first time in her life she was disappointed to see Arf's handwriting. Ignoring Uncle Kenji's ongoing rant about fairies and narrowing her eyes against a second cloud of dust as the most recent Fay took off back up the chimney, Nanoha read Arf's message.

_**Zafira's just told us what happened.  
>Don't leave the house again, whatever you do.<strong>_

Nanoha found this such an inadequate response to everything that had happened tonight that she turned the piece of paper over, looking for the rest of the letter, but there was nothing there.

And now her temper was rising again. Wasn't _anybody _going to say "well done" for fighting off two Heartless single-handedly? Both Zafira and Arf were acting as though she'd isbehaved and they were saving their tellings-off until they could ascertain how much damage had been done.

" – these damn fairies shooting in and out of my house and I won't have it, girl, I won't – "

"I can't stop the Fay coming," Nanoha snapped, crushing Arf's letter in her fist.

"I want the truth about what happened tonight!" barked Uncle Kenji. "If it was Heartless or whatever who hurt Kenta, how come you've been expelled? You did you-know-what, you've admitted it!"

Nanoha took a deep, steadying breath. Her head was beginning to ache again. She wanted more than anything to get out of the kitchen, away from the Henkens.

"I did a Cero to get rid of the Heartless," she said, forcing herself to remain calm. "The Heartless are powerful dark creatures and only stronger dark magic can get rid of them.

"But what were those things _doing_ in Uminari City?" said Uncle Kenji in tones of outrage.

"Couldn't tell you," said Nanoha wearily. "No idea."

Her head was pounding in the glare of the strip lighting now. Her anger was ebbing away. She felt exhausted. The Henkens were all staring at her.

It's you," said Uncle Kenji forcefully. "It's got something to do with you, girl, I know it. Why else would they turn up here? Why else would they be down that alleyway? You've got to be the only – the only – "Evidently he couldn't bring himself to say the word "mage". "The only _you-know-what_ for miles."

"I don't know why they were here…"

But at these words of Uncle Kenji's, Nanoha's exhausted brain ground back into action. Why _had _the Heartless come to Uminari City? How _could_ it be a coincidence that they had arrived in the alleyway where Nanoha was? Had they been sent? Had the Time-Space Administration Bureau lost control of the Heartless, had they deserted Gefangnis and joined Stern, as Carim had predicted they would? If so, why would Stern attack her? Weren't they…friends?"

"These things guard some weirdos' prison?" said Uncle Kenji, lumbering in the wake of Nanoha's train of thought.

"Yes," said Nanoha.

If only her head would stop hurting, if only she could just leave the kitchen and get to her dark room and _think_…

"Oho! They were coming for you!" said Uncle Kenji, with the triumphant air of a man reaching an unassailable conclusion. "That's it, isn't it, girl? You're on the run from the law!"

"Of course I'm not," said Nanoha, shaking her head as though to scare of a fly, her mind racing now.

"Then why - ?"

"She might have sent them," said Nanoha quietly, more to herself than to Uncle Kenji.

"What's that? Who might have sent them?"

"Stern the Destructor," said Nanoha.

She registered dimly how strange it was that the Henkens, who flinched, winced, and squawked if they heard words like "mage," or "magic," could hear the name of the most feared mage of all time without the slightest tremor.

"Stern – hang on," said Uncle Kenji, his face screwed up, a look of dawning comprehension in his piggy eyes. "I've heard that name…that was the one who…"

"Murdered my family," Nanoha said. "At least…that's what everyone believes. I'm not so sure myself…"

"But she's gone," said Uncle Kenji impatiently, without the slightest sign that the murder of Nanoha's might be a painful topic to anybody. "That damn nun said so. She's gone."

"She's back," said Nanoha heavily.

It felt very strange to be standing here in Aunt Kurima's surgically clean kitchen, beside the top-of-the-line fridge and the wide-screen plasma television, and talking calmly of Stern the Destructor to Uncle Kenji. The arrival of the Heartless in Uminari City seemed to have caused a breech in the great, invisible wall that divided the relentlessly non-magical world of Earth and the worlds beyond. Nanoha's two lives had somehow become fused and everything had been turned upside down: The Henkens were asking for details about the magical world and police captain Uzuki knew Carim Gracia; Heartless were crawling around Uminari City and she might never go back to St. Hilde. Nanoha's head throbbed more painfully.

"Back?" whispered Aunt Kurima.

She was looking at Nanoha as she had never looked at her before. And all of a sudden, for the very first time in her life, Nanoha fully appreciated that Aunt Kurima was her mother's sister. She could not have said why this hit her so very powerfully at this moment. All she knew was that she was not the only person in the room who had an inkling of what Stern the Destructor being back might mean. Aunt Kurima had never in her life looked at her like that before. Her large, pale eyes (so unlike her sister's) were not narrowed in dislike or anger: They were wide and fearful. The furious pretense that Aunt Kurima had maintained all Nanoha's life – that there was no magic and no other worlds other than the world she inhabited with Uncle Kenji – seemed to have fallen away.

"Yes," Nanoha said, talking directly to Aunt Kurima now. She came back a while ago. I saw her."

Her hands found Kenta's massive leather-clad shoulders and clutched them.

"Hang on," said Uncle Kenji, looking from his wife to Nanoha and back again, apparently dazed and confused by the unprecedented understanding that seemed to have sprung up between them. "Hang on. This Stern woman is back, you say.

"Yes."

"The one who murdered your family."

"Most people think so."

"And now she's sending those things after you?"

"Not sure, but probably," said Nanoha.

"I see," said Uncle Kenji, looking from his white-faced wife to Nanoha and hitching up his trousers. He seemed to be swelling, his great purple face stretching before Nanoha's eyes. "Well, that settles it," he said, his shirt front straining as he inflated himself, "_you can get out of this house, girl!_"

"What?" said Nanoha.

"You heard me – OUT!" Uncle Kenji bellowed, and even Aunt Kurima and Kenta jumped. "OUT! OUT! I should have done it years ago! Bugs treating the place like a rest house, cake exploding, half the living room destroyed, Kenta getting cut up, Yumi being blown up, and that flying car – OUT! OUT! You've had it! You're history! You're not staying here if some loony's after you, you're not endangering my wife and son, you're not bringing trouble down on us, if you're going the same way as your useless parents, I've had it! OUT!"

Nanoha stood rooted to the spot. The letters from the Bureau, Zafira, and Arf were crushed in her left hand. _Don't leave the house again, whatever you do. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR AUNT AND UNCLE'S HOUSE._

"You heard me!" said Uncle Kenji, bending forward now, so that his massive purple face came closer to Nanoha's, so that Nanoha actually felt flecks of spit hit her face. "Get going! You were all keen to leave half an hour ago! I'm right behind you! Get out and never darken our doorstep again! Why we ever kept you in the first place I don't know, Yumi was right, it should have been the orphanage, we were too damn soft for our own good, thought we could squash it out of you, thought we could turn you normal, but you've been rotten from the beginning, and I've had enough – FAIRIES!"

The fifth Fay zoomed down the chimney so fast it actually hit the floor before zooming into the air against with a loud screech. Nanoha raised her hand to seize the package, which was actually an old fashioned tape recorder, but it soared straight over her head, flying directly at Aunt Kurima, who let out a scream and ducked, her arms over her face. The Fay landed on the table in front of Aunt Kurima and held out the tape recorder for her to take, looking very impatient.

"You can play it yourself if you want," said Nanoha, "but I'll hear what it says anyway. That's an audio message."

"Get away from it, Kurima!" roared Uncle Kenji. "Don't touch it, it could be dangerous!"

"It's addressed to me," said Aunt Kurima in a shaking voice. "There's a note on it addressed to _me_, Kenji, look! _Mrs. Kurima Henken, The Kitchen, Number Nine, Erika Road – _"

The Fay chirped angrily. It wanted Aunt Kurima to play the message now.

"Do it!" Nanoha urged her. "Get it over with! It'll happen anyway – "

"No – "

Aunt Kurima's hand was trembling. She looked wildly around the kitchen as though looking for an escape route, but too late – the Fay got tired of waiting and hit the play button itself.

An awful voice filled the kitchen, echoing in the confined space, issuing the tape recorder on the table.

"_**REMEMBER YOUR VOW, KAZEHIME!**_"

Aunt Kurima looked as though she might faint. She sank into the chair beside Kenta, her face in her hands. The Fay spread its wings and took off back up the chimney.

"What is this?" Uncle Kenji said hoarsely. "What – I don't – Kurima?"

Aunt Kurima said nothing. Kenta was staring stupidly at his mother, his mouth hanging open. The silence spiraled horribly. Nanoha was watching her aunt, utterly bewildered, her head throbbing fit to burst.

"Kurima, dear?" said Uncle Kenji timidly. "K-Kurima?"

She raised her head. She was still trembling. She swallowed.

"The girl – the girl will have to stay, Kenji," she said weakly.

"W-what?"

"She stays," she said. She was not looking at Nanoha. She got to her feet again.

"She…but Kurima…"

"If we throw her out, the neighbors will talk," she said. She was regaining her usual brisk, snappish manner rapidly, though she was still very pale. "They'll ask awkward questions, they'll want to know where she's gone. We'll have to keep her."

Uncle Kenji was deflating like an old tire.

"But Kurima, dear – "

Aunt Kurima ignored him. She turned to Nanoha.

"You're to stay in your room," she said. "You're not to leave the house. Now get to bed."

Nanoha didn't move.

"Who was the message from?"

"Don't ask questions," Aunt Kurima snapped.

"Are you in touch with mages?"

"I told you to get to bed!"

"What did it mean? Remember your vow? What vow?"

"Go to bed!"

"How come - ?"

"YOU HEARD YOUR AUNT, NOW GET TO BED!"

There was so much Nanoha wanted to say, so many questions she wanted to demand answers from, but she had already dodged the bullet once and wasn't keen on giving the TSAB another reason to throw her in Gefangnis.

Nanoha stomped her way out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her room. This was so unfair, she thought to herself. She had saved her own life and the life of her cousin and instead of being thanked for it, she had been nearly expelled, threatened to have Raising Heart destroyed, and everyone who had written her was treating her like she was a bad child. She is fifteen, damn it! And after tonight, she knew that Carim had people watching her, apparently not trusting Nanoha's ability to take care of herself. Why hadn't Carim ever told her that her neighbor was a ninja? Why was she keeping Nanoha in the dark?

Nanoha slammed the door behind her as she walked into her room, ready to throw herself onto her bed and bury herself in the covers, when she noticed Lucy sitting on the window sill, a letter in hand. It struck her as odd that Lucy would suddenly show up now. The last time she had seen Lucy, she had sent a letter to….Nanoha reached for the letter and hastily ripped it open.

_**Nanoha,**_

_**I had just been informed that you were attacked by two Heartless close to your home on a Non-Administrated World. Firstly, let me commend you for holding your own against them. Not many mages your age have the capability of defeating even a single Heartless. Then again, most mages are not as special as you.**_

_**Secondly, I want to inform you immediately that I was not involved in the attack on you or your cousin. From what my inside sources can tell me, the attack was made by someone inside the Time-Space Administration Bureau. I cannot tell you who it is, but know that you have powerful enemies watching you. Be careful of the actions you take until your disciplinary meeting. Trust that Carim will protect you.**_

_**I am not going to tell you to stay out of trouble because I know that will only make you frustrated. I will ask that you tread lightly from here on. The people who were once your friends may no longer be what you think. Be careful and don't trust anyone.**_

_**Nette**_

For the first time that night, Nanoha felt relieved. Stern wasn't the one that sent the Heartless after her – they were still somewhat on the same side. Who would have thought that the first piece of useful information tonight would come from the person she was supposed to be fighting against?

But even though she had some answers, she also had more questions. Why were the TSAB sending Heartless after her? Did they figure out that Nanoha had been writing to Stern for months? Did they think that Nanoha was joining Stern's side and trying to get rid of her before she became too dangerous? And did Carim know about this as well? If so, why hasn't she said anything to Nanoha?

_Don't trust anyone._

The words repeated in Nanoha's head. The TSAB was conspiring against her, Carim was spying on her, and even her best friends didn't seem to think she could be trusted enough to know where they are.

Who was there left to trust?

* * *

><p><strong>As the dust begins to settle, Nanoha begins to question her faith in the government she once trusted and wonders if who can trust friends who can't trust her. In the next chapter, the first dawn of Nanoha magical journey arrives as she is met with some old and new faces. Why did the TSAB send the Heartless to attack Nanoha and Kenta? Why are Carim and the others intent on keeping Nanoha in the dark? And who send the message to Aunt Kurima. Find out in the next chapter of the Fairy Tail!<strong>

**Please, read and review.**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Outsiders side-chapter: Katana<span>**

It was always nice to get a slice of cake after a great workout – even better when that slice was free.

As she was leaving the Takamachi resident, Tatsu Yamashiro turned to Shiro, bowing respectfully to her elder.

"Thank you for taking the time out of your day to spar with me, senpai," said Tatsu. "It's been so long since anyone has defeated me, I was overdue for a little humbling." She held up the little white box. "And for the cake, too. A wife that can bake sweets at any time – you really are a lucky man."

"You're really too much," Shiro said bashfully. "You sure you don't want to stay a little longer? I'd like to introduce you to my children. You wanted to see Nanoha, didn't you?"

"Sorry, I am here on official business," said Tatsu. "But as long as I'm in Uminari City, I'm bound to run into that _little devil _sooner or later. Give my best wishes to the others – "

When Tatsu started walking down the street, a powerful gale of wind suddenly picked up that nearly knocked both swordsmen off their feet. Shiro clung to the side of his family home while Tatsu brought her arms over her head, blocking out the gust. Her ears strained to listen through all the whistling, hearing something very odd mixed in with the wind. It sounded like a deep, grieving roar – something akin to a demon. And Tatsu would know all about demons.

The wind stopped just as quickly as it started. Tatsu righted herself and reached for her sword, pulling it over an inch from its scabbard. Her hunch was correct – her sword was glowing pale white.

"What was that," asked Shiro, brushed his hair out of his face.

"I think I have a pretty good idea," said Tatsu.

Tatsu threw the cake box at Shiro, who scrambled to catch it, and dashed down the street while unzipping her duffle bag.

"Hold that for me, will you, Senpai?" Tatsu shouted. "I'll be back for it later!"

"H-Hey, where're you going? What was that?"

Tatsu didn't answer as she turned the corner.

Minutes later, a new figure was jumping across the rooftops of Uminari City, dressed in thin, black armor with samurai accents; a silver sword strapped to her side, and a porcelain mask concealing her face.

Katana had arrived.


	3. The Advance Guard

**Nanoha and the Fairy Tail**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
>Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter Three: The Advance Guard<span>**

_I've just been attacked by Heartless and I might be expelled from St. Hilde. I want to know what's going on and when I'm going to get out of here._

Nanoha copied these words onto five separate pieces of paper the moment she reached the desk in her dark bedroom. She addressed the first to Arf and the others to her roommates, Fate, Hayate, Subaru, and Teana. Her Fay, Lucy, was floating outside looking for food. Nanoha paced the bedroom waiting for her to come back, her head pounding, her brain too busy for sleep even though her eyes stung and itched from tiredness. Her back ached from carrying Kenta home, and the two lumps on her head where the window and Kenta had hit her were throbbing painfully.

Up and down she paced, consumed with anger and frustration, grinding her teeth and clenching her fists, casting angry looks out at the empty, star-strewn sky every time she passed the window. TSAB sending Heartless to get her, police captain Uzuki and Argit tailing her in secret, then suspension from St. Hilde and a hearing at the Time-Space Administration Bureau – and _still_ none of her 'friends' were telling her what was going on. She had to hear everything from _Stern_, her supposed archenemy.

And what, _what_, had that audio message been about? Whose voice had echoed so horribly, so menacingly, through the kitchen? Nanoha knew she had heard that same scornful tone before, but couldn't remember where.

Why was she still trapped here without information? Why was everyone treating her like some naughty kid? _Don't do any more magic, stay in the house…._

She kicked her school bag as she passed it, but far from relieving her anger she felt worse, as she now had a sharp pain in her toe to deal with in addition to the pain in the rest of her body.

Just as she limped past the window, Lucy soared through it with a soft rustle of wings like a small ghost.

"About time!" Nanoha snarled, as she landed lightly on top of her cage. "You can put that down, I've got work for you!"

Lucy's large rough chocolate eyes glazed reproachfully at her over the large crabapple clamped in her tiny hands.

"Come here," said Nanoha, picking up the five small rolls of paper and a leather pouch and tying them to her back. "Take these straight to Onee-chan, Fate-chan, Hayate-chan, Tea, and Subaru and don't come back without good long replies. Keep pestering them till they've written decent-length answers if you've got to. Understand?

Lucy gave a muffled chirping noise, face buried in the crabapple she brought.

"Get going, then," said Nanoha.

She took off immediately. The moment she'd gone, Nanoha threw herself down onto her bed without undressing and stared at the dark ceiling. In addition to every other miserable feeling, she now felt guilty that she'd been irritable with Lucy; she was the only friend she had at number nine, Erika Road. But she's make it up to her when she came back with Arf and her roommate's answers.

They were bound to write back quickly; they couldn't possibly ignore a Heartless attack. She'd wake up tomorrow to five fat letters full of sympathy and plans for her immediate removal to the Yagami Orphanage. And with that comforting idea, sleep rolled over her, stifling all further thought.

* * *

><p>But Lucy didn't return the next morning. Nanoha spent the day in her bedroom, leaving it only to go to the bathroom. Three times that day Aunt Kurima shoved food into her room through the cat flap Uncle Kenji had installed three years ago. Every time Nanoha heard her approaching she tried to question her about the audio message, but she might as well have interrogated the doorknob for all the answers she got. Otherwise the Henkens kept well clear of her bedroom. Nanoha couldn't see the point of forcing her company on them; another fight would achieve nothing except perhaps making her so angry she'd perform more illegal magic.<p>

So it went on for three days. Nanoha was filled alternatively with restless energy that made her unable to settle to anything, during which she paced her bedroom again, furious at all of them for leaving her to stew in her mess, and with a lethargy so complete that she could lie on her bed for an hour at a time, staring dazedly into space, aching with dread at the thought of the Bureau hearing.

What if they ruled against her? What if she _was _expelled and Raising Heart was destroyed? What would she do, where would she go? Shen could not return to living full-time with the Henkens, not now that she knew the other world, the one to which he really belongs….Was it possible that she might be able to move into a new home with Arf, as Arf had suggested at the end of her third year? Would she be allowed to live there alone, given that she was still underage? Or would the matter of where she went next be decided for her; had her breach of the Interdimensional Statute of Secrecy been severe enough to land her in a cell in Gefangnis? Whenever this though occurred, Nanoha invariably slid of her bed and began pacing again.

On the fourth night after Lucy's departure Nanoha was lying in one of her apathetic phases, staring at the ceiling, her exhausted mind quite blank, when her uncle entered her bedroom. Nanoha looked slowly around at him. Uncle Kenji was wearing his best suit and an expression of enormous smugness.

"We're going out," he said.

"Wha?"

"We – that is to say, your aunt, Kenta, and I – are going out."

"Fine," said Nanoha dully, looking back at the ceiling.

"You're not to leave your bedroom where we are away."

"Okay."

"You are not to touch the television, the stereo, or any of our possessions."

"Right."

"You are not to steal food from the fridge."

"Okay."

"I'm going to lock your door."

"You do that."

Uncle Kenji glared at Nanoha, clearly suspicious of this lack of argument, then stomped out of the room and closed the door behind him. Nanoha heard the key turn in the lock and Uncle Kenji's footsteps walking heavily down the stairs. A few minutes later she heard the slamming of car doors, the rumble of an engine, and the unmistakable sound of the car sweeping out of the drive.

"**Great, they're gone,**" said Raising Heart, floating over Nanoha's head. "**If you need me, I'll be watching the television, listening to the stereo, raiding the fridge, and touching all of their possessions.**"

Nanoha knew Raising Heart was making jokes to lighten her up, but Nanoha wasn't in a joking mood.

Nanoha had no particular feeling about the Henkens leaving. It made no difference to her whether they were in the house or not. She could not even summon the energy to get up and turn on her bedroom light. The room grew steadily darker around her as she lay listening to the night sounds through the window she kept open all the time, waiting for the blessed moment when Lucy returned.

The empty house creaked around her. The pipes gurgled. Nanoha lay there in a kind of stupor, thinking of nothing, suspended in misery.

And then, quite distinctly, she heard a crash in the kitchen below.

She sat bolt upright, listening intently. The Henkens couldn't be back, it was much too soon, and in any case she hadn't heard their car.

There was silence for a few seconds, and then she heard voices.

_Burglars_, she thought, sliding off the bed onto her feet – but a split second later, it occurred to her that burglars would keep their voices down, and whoever was moving around in the kitchen was certainly not troubling to do so.

She snatched Raising Heart, activated her staff form, and stood facing her bedroom door, listening with all her might. Next moment she jumped back as her door was ripped off its hinges and landed on the floor with a _thud_.

Nanoha's heart shot upwards into her throat. There were people standing in the shadowy hall, silhouetted against the streetlight glowing through the open window; eight or none of them, all, as far as she could see, looking at her.

"Was kicking the door down really necessary, Nove? We could have just picked the lock," said a small, exasperated voice.

"Eh, but this way is more fun."

Nanoha's heart was thumping uncontrollably. She knew the man's voice, but she did not lower Raising Heart.

"Yuuno-kun?" she said uncertainly.

"Sorry about the rough entrance, Nanoha-san," said the voice. "Nove-san takes this spy stuff a little too seriously at times. Why don't you come out here so we can see you properly?"

Nanoha lowered Raising Heart slightly but did not relax her grip on it, nor did she move. She had very good reason to be suspicious. She had spent her first three years at St. Hilde in what she had thought was Yuuno Scyra's company only to find that it wasn't Yuuno at all, but an imposter; an imposter, moreover, who had framed her half-sister and sentenced her to Gefangnis for a crime she never committed. But before she could make a decision about what to do next, a third, slightly hoarse voice floated into the room.

"It's all right, Nanoha. We've come to take you away."

Nanoha's heart leapt. She knew that voice too, though she hadn't heard it in over four years.

"J-Jellal-sensei?" she said disbelievingly. "Is that you?"

"Why are we all standing in the dark?" said the female voice, a voice completely unfamiliar to Nanoha. "**Revolver Light!**"

A bright light flared, illuminating the hall. Nanoha blinked. The people were crowding around the threshold to her room, gazing intently at her, some craning their head for a better look.

Yuuno Scrya stood nearest her. Though still quite young, Yuuno looked tired and rather sick; there were dark line under his eyes like his hadn't slept in years and his normally groomed hair was a frayed mess. Nevertheless, he was smiling broadly at Nanoha, who tried to smile back through her shock.

"Ooh, she looks just like Su-chan said she would," said the woman who was hold the light aloft. She looked the youngest there; she had a pale heart-shaped face, twinkling golden eyes, and short spiky hair that was a violent shade of red. "What up, Nanoha!"

"Yeah, I see what you mean, Yuuno," said a tall gray-haired mage standing farthest back; he had a deep, slow voice and wore an admiral's uniform not unlike Lindy's. "She looks exactly like her mother."

Jellal Fernandes, who had short rugged blue hair and a large tattoo on the right side of his face, was squinting suspiciously at Nanoha.

"Are you quite sure it's her, Yuuno?" he said. "I'd be a nice lookout if we bring back some Hellion impersonating her. We ought to ask her something only the real Nanoha would know. Unless anyone brought any Sodium thiopental?"

"Nanoha-san, what was my name when I was Hayate's pet?" said Yuuno.

"Pabu," said Nanoha nervously.

"That's her, Jellal," said Yuuno.

Nanoha stepped out into the hall, very conscious of everyone still staring at her. Yuuno held out his hand and shook Nanoha's.

"How are you?" he asked, looking at Nanoha closely.

"F-fine…"

Nanoha could hardly believe this was real. Weeks with nothing, not even the slightest hint of a plan to remove her from Erika Road, and suddenly a whole bunch of mages were standing matter-of-factly in the house as though this were a long standing arrangement. She glanced at the people surrounding Yuuno; they were still gazing avidly at her. She felt very conscious of the fact that she had not combed her hair in four days.

"I'm – you're really lucky the Henkens are out…" she mumbled

"Lucky, ha!" said the redheaded woman. "It was me that lured them out of the way. Sent a letter telling them they'd been short-listed for the All-Japan Best-Kept Suburban Lawn Competition. They're heading off to the prize-giving right now….Or they think they are. Ha! Earth people will believe just about everything, won't they?"

"Careful, Nakajima, I too was born on Earth," said the gray-haired admiral. Like Yuuno, he held out his hand and shook Nanoha's. "Admiral Gil Graham, TSAB Air Armaments Service, Capital Air Force Division. A pleasure to finally meet you in person."

"Er…same here," said Nanoha. "We're leaving, aren't we? Soon?"

"Almost at once," said Yuuno, "we're just waiting for the all-clear."

"Where are we going? The Orphanage?" Nanoha asked hopefully.

"Not the Orphanage, no," said Yuuno, motioning Nanoha out the hall and down the stairs; the little know of mages followed, all still eying Nanoha curiously. "Too risky. We've set up headquarters somewhere undetectable even by the TSAB. It's taken a while to set everything up. Oh, you'll probably want to know who everyone is. Well, you've already met Jellal Fernandes and Gil Graham. Over there is Nove Nakajima – "

"What up, Nanoha?" said the redheaded mage. "Heard all about you from my sisters. Heard you tried to run away over a year ago and nearly got flattened by Dieci and Cinque. Wish I could have seen that."

"And this is Coco" – he indicated the fashionable brunette with sunglasses – "Kakashi Hatake" – the one-eyed scarecrow nodded – "Trafalgar Law – "

"We've met before," said the Death Surgeon with a lofty grin.

" – Red Robin" – a muscular teen in a red power suit inclined his head – "Nightcrawler" – a blue-furred demon man hanging from ceiling winked – "and Jinora." A dark-haired, tattooed woman waved from the railing.

Nanoha inclined her head awkwardly at each of them as they were introduced. She wished they would look at something other than her; it was as though she had suddenly been ushered onstage. She also wondered why so many of them were there.

"A surprising number of people volunteered to come and get you," said Yuuno, as though he had read Nanoha's mind; the cornered of his mouth twitching slightly.

"Yeah, well, the more the better," said Jellal darkly. "We're your guard, Takamachi."

"We're just waiting for the signal to tell us it's safe to set off," said Yuuno, glancing out of the front window. "We've got about fifteen minutes."

"Very _clean_, are they, these Machlos?" said Nove, who was looking around the living room with great interest. "My dad's a Machlos and he's a real slob. Then again, he has the disadvantage of raising six girls."

"Er – yeah," said Nanoha. "Look" – she turned back to Yuuno – "what's going on, I haven't heard anything from anyone about Ste - ?"

Several of the men and women made odd hissing noises; Nightcrawler fell off the ceiling and fell flat on his face, and Jellal growled, "_shut up!_"

"What?" said Nanoha.

"We're not discussing anything here, it's too risky," said Jellal. "We'll talk more later once we're out of range of the auto-sensors. TSAB put down dozens of them in the last month – they've been keeping an eye on your for a while. That's how they figured out you used magic so fast. Right now the main task if to safely relocate you away from prying eyes."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Nanoha asked. "Use a Dimensional Transfer spell and get us out of here."

"We can't do that; it's too risky, the TSAB will be watching the transfer network," said Yuuno. "You're too young to open the Corridors and it's more than our life's worth to set up an unauthorized Hiraishin."

"So how are we supposed to get there? Fly?" Nanoha asked. Everyone stood silent for a moment. "You're kidding, right? Mid-Childa is on the other side of the galaxy. How do you expect us to fly through space? Unless you got a Lantern Ring in your pocket, it's impossible."

"We never said we were going to Mid-Childa," said Jellal. "We're headed to a mobile headquarters that is presently stationed on Earth for the sole purpose of retrieving you. We'll fly to its location and then take off after."

"Yuuno says you're an excellent flier," said Gil Graham.

"He's excellent," said Yuuno, who was checking his watch. "Anyway, you'd better go and get packed, Nanoha, we want to be ready to go when the signal comes."

"I'll come and help you," said Nove brightly.

She followed Nanoha back up the stairs, looking around with much curiosity and interest.

"Funny place," she said, "it's a bit _too clean,_ you know what I mean? Bit unnatural. Oh, this is better. Reminds me of home," she added, as they entered Nanoha's bedroom and turned on the light.

Her room was certainly messier than the rest of the house. Confined to it for four days in a very bad mood, Nanoha had not bothered tidying up after herself. Most of the books she owned were strewn over the floor where she'd tried distracting herself with each in turn and thrown it aside. Lucy's cage needed cleaning out and was starting to smell, and her luggage lay open, revealing a jumbled mixture of non-mage clothes and her Barrier Jacket that had spilled onto the floor around it. Nanoha started picking up book and throwing them hastily into her luggage. Nove paused at her open closest as she started pulling down clothes for her to wear when she turned to face Nanoha.

"You've been friends with my little sister for –what? – five years now?" she said pensively. "So that means you already know about – you know – her body?"

"Er – " said Nanoha, looking up at her over the top of _Blazing with the Belkans._

"**I think if anyone's seen her body, Teana would have the best chance, if you know what I mean**?" said Raising Heart.

"What? No!" Nove yelled, red-faced. "I mean, you know about her being a...Combat Cyborg. After that article Cat Grant wrote last year, I was kinda worried that Subaru would have a hard time at school. A lot of people aren't willing to associate themselves with one of the Sins of Life. I know things haven't been easy for the rest of us. Ginga and Wendi are having an inquiry at the Bureau and I was forced to close down my dojo once all my student quit. I just want to make sure that Subaru isn't haven't too much trouble at school now that the secret is out."

"I don't care if Subaru is Combat Cyborg," said Nanoha, putting away her books. "Just like I don't care that Fate-chan is a clone or Teana is a busybody. Though I kinda care that Hayate-chan almost sold my panties on the internet. But all in all, Subaru is a good friend…at least, I hope she is. She hasn't been writing at all – "

"That's Lady Satsuki's fault," said Nove. "She made it absolutely clear that your friends aren't to make any contact with you. She's afraid one of them might slip up and give away too much information."

"Who's Lady Satsuki?" Nanoha asked her, straightening up, looking vaguely annoyed.

"You'll find out once we get to where we're going," said Nove. "Speaking of which, we're not going to get finished packing in time at this rate," she added, looking around at all the mess on the floor. "Uh…would you mind stepping outside for a moment?"

Nanoha nodded dimly. She stepped carefully over her door and stood with her back against the hallway wall. Nove winked at her and crouched; a soft clicking sound came from Nove's books. Suddenly, Nove became a blur of red and blue color, zooming around her bedroom like a tornado, sending loose paper flying out into the hallway. It was a moment later after Nanoha had ripped the paper from her face that Nove was standing in the hallway, her luggage all packed on the floor.

"It's not very neat," said Nove, bending down and opening one of the suitcases. "Ginga's got a knack of getting stuff to fit itself in neatly – she even takes the time to fold the socks – but at least it's all in," she added, slamming the suitcase shut. "I was never good at these sort of household type stuff – I just like to punch things. That's why I started the dojo. Well, now that that's take care of, let's get down stairs before that vein in Jellal's neck bursts."

"What vein?" asked Nanoha.

"Huh, I guess it only pops up when I'm around," Nove said, but shrugged.

Nove stacked Nanoha's suitcases on top of each other and lifted them up with one hand, show no signs of strain or exertion. She tossed Lucy's cage to Nanoha with her left hand, which Nanoha was unfortunate to realize was still a mess; Nove made it very clear she wasn't going to clean it up. Nove carefully balanced Nanoha's baggage as she went back downstairs with Nanoha following closely behind.

Back in the living room, Gil Graham was sitting on the loveseat rubbing his shoulders, silently moaning how they have been aching from all the travel. Jinora and Kakashi Hatake were examining the microwave in the kitchen and Nightcrawler was laughing at a potato peeler he had come across while rummaging in the drawers. Yuuno was sealing a letter addressed to the Henkens.

"Excellent," said Yuuno, looking up as Nove and Nanoha entered. "We've got about one minute, I think. We should probably get out into the garden so we're ready. Nanoha, I've left a letter telling your aunt and uncle not to worry – "

"They won't," said Nanoha.

"That you're safe – "

"That'll depress them."

" – and you'll see them next spring."

"Do I have to?"

Yuuno smiled but made no answer.

"Come here, Takamachi," said Jellal, beckoning Nanoha toward him. "I need to cast a Bakshi spell on you?"

"You need to what?" said Nanoha confused.

"A Bakshi spell," said Jellal, flattening his hand on Nanoha's head. "Yuuno says you've got a Black Coat, but it won't work once until the light of the full moon; this'll disguise you better. Here you go – "

He pressed down On Nanoha's head, nearly making her fall over, and Nanoha felt a curious sensation as though Jellal had just smashed an egg there; cold trickles seemed to be running down her body from the point where Jellal's hand pressed down.

"Nice one, Fernandes," said Nove appreciatively, staring at Nanoha's midriff.

Nanoha looked down at her body, or rather, what had been her body, for it didn't look anything like hers anymore. It was not invisible; it had simply taken on the exact color and texture of the wallpaper behind her. She seemed to have become a human chameleon.

"Come on," said Jellal, unlocking the back door.

They all stepped onto Uncle Kenji's beautifully kept lawn. Nanoha nearly jumped out of her clotheswhen saw the gigantic buffalo eating at Aunt Kurima's prized begonias. Besides the obvious question of why the animal was in her backyard in the first place, Nanoha wondered how no one on Erika Road had noticed it. The behemoth buffalo noticed them coming outside and grunted dully.

"**Am I the only one who sees the giant yak?**"asked Raising Heart.

"Pepper's not a yak," said Jinora, running up and petting the creature. "She's a Sky Bison. She's how those of who can't fly managed to arrive safely."

"**Yeah, I still say it's a yak,**" said Raising Heart.

"Clear night," grunted Jellal, scanning the skies. "Could have done with a bit more cloud cover. Right, Takamachi, we're going to be flying in close formation. I'll take position in front, so keep close on my tail. Red Robin and Nove will flank you on both sides. The rest'll be covering us from the rear. We don't break ranks for anything, got me? If one of us is killed – "

"Is that likely?" Nanoha asked apprehensively, but Jellal ignored her.

" – the others keep flying, don't stop, don't break ranks. If they take out all of us and you survive, Nanoha, the rear guards are standing by to take over; keep flying east and they'll join you."

"Stop being so cheerful, Fernandes, she'll think we're not taking this seriously," said Nove, as she threw Nanoha's baggage and Lucy's cage on Pepper's saddle.

"I'm just telling Takamachi the plan," said Jellal. "Our job's to deliver her safely to headquarters and if we die in the attempt – "

"No one is going to die," said Gil Graham calmly.

"Everyone in positions. That's the first signal!" said Yuuno sharply, pointing into the sky.

Far, far above them, a shower of bright red sparks had flared among the stars. Raising Heart swapped Nanoha's non-mage attire for her Barrier Jacket at her unspoken command. Nanoha grounded her feet into the grass, hand gripped tightly on Raising Heart's rod , and felt the vibrations of the energy wings forming at her ankles, flooded with excitement at the thought of being up in the air once more.

"Second signal, let's go!" said Yuuno loudly, as more sparks, green this time, exploded high above them.

Nanoha kicked off hard from the ground. The cool night air rushed through hair as the square gardens of Erika Road fell away, shrinking rapidly into a patchwork of dark greens and blacks, and every thought of the Bureau hearing was swept from her mind as though the rush of air had blown it out of her head. She felt as though her heart was going to explode with pleasure; she was flying again, flying away from Erika Road as she'd been fantasizing about all spring, she was going home….For a few glorious moment, all her problems seemed to recede into nothing, insignificant in the vast, starry sky.

"Hard left, hard left, there's a Machlos looking up!" shouted Jellal from up front. He swerved and Nanoha followed him, watching his cloak fluttering in the rushing winds. "We need more height….Give it another quarter of a mile!"

Nanoha's eyes watered in the chill as they soared upward; she could see nothing below now but the tiny pinpricks of light that were car headlights and streetlamps. Two of those tiny lights might belong to Uncle Kenji's car….The Henkens would be heading back to their empty house right now, full of rage about the nonexistent lawn competition…and Nanoha laughed aloud at the thought, though her voice was drowned by the _whoosh_ of the wind in their ears as they sped through the air. She had not felt this alive in weeks, or this happy…

"Bearing south!" shouted Jellal. "Town ahead!"

They soared right, so that they didn't pass directly over the glittering spider web of lights below.

"Bear southeast and keep climbing, there's some low cloud ahead we can lose ourselves in!" called Jellal.

"We're not going through clouds!" shouted Nove angrily. "We'll get soaked, Fernandes!"

Nanoha was relieved to hear her say this; her legs already felt icy cold from the chilling night air. She wished Erza had given her a bot more coverage when making her Barrier Jacket; she was starting to shiver.

They altered their course every now and then according to Jellal's instructions. Nanoha's eyes were screwed up against the rush of icy wind that was starting to make her ears ache. She could remember being this cold in the air only once before, during the Riot Force match against Hegemon in her third year, which had taken place in a storm. The guard around her was circling continuously like giant birds of prey. Nanoha lost track of time. She wondered how long they had been flying; it felt like an hour at least.

"Turning southwest!" yelled Jellal. "We want to avoid the highway!"

Nanoha was now so chilled that she thought longing for a moment of the snug, dry interiors of cars streaming along below, then, even more longingly, of traveling by Transporter Spell; it might be uncomfortable spinning very fast through cities in the blink of an eye, but at least she wouldn't be cold.

"We ought to double back for a bit, just to make sure we're not being followed!" Jellal ushered.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR #$% MIND, FERNANDES?" Nove screamed from the right. "We're all freezing up here! If we keep going of course we're not going to get there until next week! We're nearly there now!"

"Time to start the descent!" came Yuuno's voice. "Follow Jellal, Nanoha-san!"

Nanoha followed Jellal into a dive. They were heading for the largest collectiong of lights she had yet seen, a huge, sprawling, crisscrossing mass, glittering in lines and grids, interspersed with patches of deepest black. Lower and lower they flew, until Nanoha could see individual headlights and streetlamps. She wanted to reach the ground very much, though she felt sure that someone would unfreeze her limbs from their current positions.

"Here we go!" called Jellal, and a few seconds later he landed.

Nanoha touched down right behind him in the middle of a large patch of well-kept grass. Red Robin and Nove landed next to her and Pepper the Sky Bison touched down last. Shivering, Nanoha looked around. Besides the well-manicured grass, there were hundreds of sakura trees in bloom, several winding stone paths, and a wide river running through. Nanoha recognized the place; she had never been here before, but she had seen dozens of photos.

"We're at Shinjuku Gyoen," said Nanoha. "But what are we doing here?"

"In a minute," Yuuno said quietly.

Jellal was rummaging in his cloak, his hands clumsy with cold.

"Got it," he muttered, raising a vibrant-orange crystal that floated half-an-inch from his palm.

He held it up to the air and the nearest park light went out with pop. He waved the crystal to the next light; it went out. The pattern repeated until every park light in the vicinity was extinguished until the only light came from the full moon overhead.

"Borrowed it from Carim-sama," said Jellal, pocketing the Shining Shard. "That'll take care of any Machlos that feel like going for a nightly stroll. Now, come on, quick."

He took Nanoha by the arm and led her further into the trees until they reached a clear patch close by. Yuuno and Nove followed, carrying Lucy's cage and Nanoha's baggage respectively, the rest of the guard, all with their weapons out, flanking them.

"Here," Jellal muttered, thrusting a piece of paper toward Nanoha's camouflaged hand and forming a creating a small spark of starlight in his hand close, so as to illuminate the writing. "Read quickly and memorize."

Nanoha looked down at the piece of paper. The narrow handwriting was vaguely familiar. It said:

_**The headquarters of the Order of the Saint King  
>may be found at the Garden of Time.<strong>_

* * *

><p><strong>The third chapter is over and I'm not particularly happy with it, but overall it is nothing important. In the next chapter, Nanoha arrives finally arrives at the Garden of time and reunites with her old friends and meets the grandiose Lady Satsuki. But Nanoha in a very grateful mood. What is the Order of the Saint King? Why have they waited so long to finally bring Nanoha in? And will Nanoha finally get a proper answer from the people who have shut her out? Find out on the next Fairy Tail.<strong>

**Please, read and review.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Nanoha's Corner~<strong>_

**#1: Money Back Guaranteed**

Uminari City's Office of Psychology boasted an impressive reputation for curing almost every patient of their psychological troubles from irrational phobias to paranoid delusions. If you weren't cured by the end of their sessions, they promised a money back guarantee. That was how confident they were in their treatment.

So on the starry spring night, Mr. Ryuken left his psychologist's office with a new spring in his step.

"Yes! I'm finally cured of my irrational fear of seeing imaginary flying buffalo!" Mr. Ryuken shouted gleefully.

Mr. Ryuken stared up into the starry sky, imagining a brighter tomorrow…and then he saw a gigantic flying buffalo soared across the sky, carrying an assortment of people on its back and following three flying humans.

"Hard left, hard left, there's a Machlos looking up!"

And then they were gone; Mr. Ryuken's smile fell.

He turned around and walked straight back into the office, demanding a refund.


	4. The Garden of Time

**Nanoha and the Fairy Tail**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
>Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators <strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter Four: The Garden of Time<span>**

"What's the Order of the - ?" Nanoha began.

"Not here!" hissed Jellal. "Wait till we're inside!"

He pulled the piece of paper out of Nanoha's hand and set fire to it in his hand. As the message curled into flames and floated to the ground, Nanoha looked round at the clearing again. There were a few flowers here and there, but hardly anything that could be called a garden, let alone a headquarters.

"Where's - ?"

"Think about what you've just memorized," said Yuuno quietly.

Nanoha thought, and no sooner had she reached the part about the Garden of Time, then a gate of solid brass emerged from the ground without disturbing the dirt. Rows of towering spires rippled into existence after, all of them converging around an imposing manor made from glistening black stone. Nanoha gaped at it. It was as though and entire mountain range had simply sprouted like a weed. Nanoha could hear the cars from the nearby road passing by. Apparently non-mages didn't seem to notice the mountain-mansion.

"Come on, hurry," said Jellal, prodding Nanoha in the back.

Nanoha walked through the brass gates, which opened to them automatically, and walked up the cobblestone path to the newly materialized door. Its black paint was as smooth and glistening as the rest of the manor. The silver door knockers were shaped like wolf heads. There was no keyhole or letter box.

Yuuno rapped the door with his knuckles twice, paused, then knocked once more. Nanoha heard many loud, metallic clicks and what sounded like the clatter of many chains being pulled. The door creaked open.

"Get in quick, Nanoha," Yuuno whispered. "But don't go too far inside and don't touch anything. The lady of the house would not be happy. And we need her happy."

Nanoha stepped over the threshold and flinched as her eyes adjusted from the darkness of the outside to the light inside. Nanoha almost dropped Raising Heart. The entrance hall of the manor was almost as large as the one at St. Hilde. White stone walls contrasted with the manors dark exterior, golden fixtures and expensive-looking paintings decorated the walls, a giant chandeliers of diamonds glittered from the ceiling, and towering suits of armor stood stalwart in their alcoves in each corner. Nanoha couldn't shake the feeling that the armors were staring at her with accusing eyes.

She looked over her shoulder and saw the others filing in behind her, Yuuno and Nove carrying her luggage and Lucy's cage. Jellal was standing on the top step and releasing the lights the Shining Shard had stolen from the park lamps; they flew back to their bulbs and the paths beyond glowed momentarily with orange light before Jellal closed the front door.

"Here – "

He pressed Nanoha hard on the top of her head with his hand; Nanoha felt as though something hot was trickling down her back this time and knew that the Bakshi Spell must have lifted.

"Yuuno-san and I shall report to Lady Satsuki. She'll want to know that Nanoha Takamachi has arrived safely."

Barely had the words left him that the door at the far end of the entrance hall was thrown open and a woman emerged. She was beaming in welcome as she hurried toward them, reaching Nove first before anyone else. Nanoha noticed how similar she looked to Subaru Nakajima, except with longer hair and mature facial features; she assumed she was another of the Nakajima sisters.

"I'm glad that nothing went wrong during the transport," she whispered, pulling Nove into a rib-cracking hug before holding her at arm's length and examining her critically. "Though you're looking a bit pale; did you get a proper meal before you left? You did remember to bundle up, right? It's cold at night."

"I'm fine, Gin-nee, geez!" Nove groaned, pushing her sister off. "Everything went fine. We got Nanoha here without a hitch." She turned to Nanoha, gesturing to her sister. "Nanoha, this is my oldest sister, Ginga Nakajima. And in case you're wondering, yes, she is usually this annoying."

Ginga seemed to ignore the remark as she turned to the gang of mages behind her and whispered urgently, "More are still coming, the meeting hasn't started yet…."

The mages behind Nanoha all made noises of disbelief and frustration and began filing past Nanoha toward the door through which Ginga had just come; Nanoha made to followed Yuuno, but Ginga held her back.

"No, Nanoha, you haven't been invited to join the Order meetings just yet. Unless Lady Satsuki or Captain Rogers say otherwise, you are to remain outside. Subaru and your friends are upstairs; you can wait with them until dinner is ready. And keep your voice down in the halls," she added in an urgent whisper.

"Why"

"Not everyone here is a fan of yours, especially the lady of the house."

"What does that - ?"

"We'll explain later, I've got to hurry, I need to talk to Harribel before the meeting – I'll take you up to Ms. Fate's room; you'll be sleeping there with your friends."

"Fate-chan has her own room?"

Ginga pressed her finger to her lip and led Nanoha past a pair of long, velvety-red curtain, behind which Nanoha supposed there must be another door, and after walking, and after skirting a large suit of armor that Nanoha swore was following her with its eyes, they started up the gilded spiral staircase, noting how impeccably clean it was despite looking so empty. As they climbed higher and higher up the stairway, Nanoha peeked down a few of the halls, some of which Nanoha glimpsed several Twi'leks scrubbing the floors and polishing plaques. It took a moment for Nanoha to figure that they were all slaves.

Nanoha's bewilderment deepened with every step she took. Nanoha knew she was pretty well off herself given the amount of credits she had in her account in Reichtum, but who ever owned this place made Nanoha's money look like pocket change.

"Ginga-san, why - ?"

"Ms. Fate will explain everything, Nanoha, I've really got to get back soon," Ginga whispered distractedly. "There" – they had reached the sixth floor landing – "Ms. Fate's room as at the far end of the hall. One of the servants will come to tell you when dinner is ready."

And she hurried off downstairs again.

Nanoha crossed the marble hallway, turned the doorknob, which was shaped like a wolf's head, and opened the door.

She caught a brief glimpse of a high-ceilinged room with a bed big enough to fit ten adults, then there was a loud twittering noise, followed by an even louder shriek, and she suddenly found herself lifted off the ground – Subaru had thrown herself onto her in a hug that Nanoha was sure to crack her spine, while Hayate's tiny Fay, Squiddie, zoomed excitedly round and round their heads.

"NANOHA-SAN! Tea, she's here, Nanoha-san's here! We didn't hear you arrive! How _are _you? Are you all right? Have you been angry with us? I bet you have, I know our letters were useless – but we couldn't tell you anything. Lady Satsuki made use swear we wouldn't and she's super scary! We've got so much to tell you, and you've got to tell us – the Heartless! When we heard – and that Bureau hearing – it's just outrageous! Fate-san looked it all up, they can't expel you, they just can't, there's some line in the underage restriction thingy that says you can use magic in life-threatening situations – "

"Breath, Su-chan, your face is turning purple again," said Hayate, grinning, closing the door behind Nanoha.

Nanoha took a good look at her friends and roommates sitting around the room. Hayate changed the least out of everyone, appearing to have only grown an inch in the past couple months and was now the shortest of the group. Subaru had cut her hair shorter than it usually was and there was a definite increase in her muscle tone that was visible through her shirt. Teana had grown a lot in their time separated, standing at the same height as Nanoha, and had finally tossed her ribbons to let her silky orange hair flow down her back.

And then there was Fate.

Nanoha fought back the burning feeling spreading across her face. Fate was even more beautiful that Nanoha could remember, and she didn't think that was possible. Fate was always taller than the rest of the girls, towering over Nanoha by a head, her hair glistening like a waterfall of gold, her alabaster skin smooth and flawless like porcelain, and her eyes – oh, her eyes beautiful and sparkling like a pair of rubies. Fate is so gorgeous, Nanoha thought, just like Alicia…

Reality crashed down on Nanoha hard as she began to scold herself. Nanoha had many mixed emotions when it came to Fate, many of which began to months ago when Fate professed her love for her. While many would be overjoyed to be loved by a beautiful and gifted woman, Nanoha was scared; scared that if she did return Fate's feelings, she wouldn't sincere. She was scared that she would just be using Fate as a replacement for her dead sister; the same sister Fate was cloned from.

Fate didn't deserve that.

Subaru, still beaming, let go of Nanoha, but before she could say another word there was a soft whooshing sound and something yellow soared from the top of the mahogany wardrobe and landed gently on Nanoha shoulder.

"Lucy!"

The blonde Fay chirped and nuzzled her cheek affectionately as Nanoha stroke the crevice between her wings.

"She's been acting crazy," said Hayate. "Pulling hair and pinching us when she brought your last letters."

"Oh yeah," Nanoha said. "Sorry about that, but I wanted answers, you know…"

"We wanted to give them to you, Nanoha-san," said Teana. "Fate-san was out of her mind with worry. She kept saying you'd do something stupid if you were stuck all on your own without news, but Lady Satuski made us – "

" – swear not to tell me," said Nanoha "Yeah, Subaru's already said.

The warm glow that had flared inside her at the sight of her four best friends was extinguished as something icy flooded the pit of her stomach. All of a sudden – after yearning to see them for months – she felt she would rather they left her alone.

There was a strained silence in which Nanoha stroked Lucy automatically, not looking at any of the others.

"Who is Lady Satsuki?" Nanoha finally asked.

"Satsuki Kiryuin; Student Council President of Honnoji Academy; Seventh Seat of the Order of the Saint King," said Fate. "She is one of the seven people in charge of running the Order and the only one who directly instructs the Order members. She's only eighteen, but she's very smart and very powerful. You'll have to see for yourself to know what we're talking about."

"Lady Satsuki seemed to think it was best if we didn't contact you," said Teana breathlessly. "I know it sounds harsh, but she's usually right about these things."

"Right," said Nanoha.

"I think she thought you were safest with the Machlos – " Hayate began.

"Don't say that word," said Nanoha forcefully. Hayate raised her brow. "You don't go around calling Teana a half-breed. You think that the non-mages are happy to be called weak and powerless?"

"Well…no…," Hayate said awkwardly. "It's just…we've always called them that…never really thought about it…"

"Bet you didn't," Nanoha snapped. "Just like you didn't have to deal with a pair of Heartless over the holidays."

"Yeah, we haven't," said Subaru. "But that's why Lady Satsuki had people from the Order of the Saint King tailing you all the time – "

"Nanoha felt a great jolt in her guts as though she had just missed a step going downstairs. So everyone had known she was being followed except her.

"Didn't work that well, though, did it?" said Nanoha, doing her utmost to keep her voice even. "Had to look after myself after all, didn't I?"

"She was so angry," said Fate in an almost awestruck voice. "Lady Satuski. We saw her. When she found out Argit had left before his shift had ended. She was frightening."

"Well, I'm glad he left," Nanoha said coldly. "If he hadn't, I wouldn't have done magic and your precious Lady Satsuki would probably have left me at Erika Road all holiday."

"Aren't…aren't you worried about the Time-Space Administration Bureau hear?" said Teana quietly.

"No," Nanoha lied defiantly. She walked away from them, looking around, with Lucy nestled contently on her shoulder. The room was large but bare. There were only the essentials – bed, wardrobe, desk, and mirror – but the empty canvas of the walls made it feel emptier than it was. Nanoha noticed a large outline on the wall, like someone had taken it down recently, perhaps a portrait or sorts.

"So why's Satsuki been so keep to keep me in the dark?" Nanoha asked, still trying hard to keep her voice casual. "Did you – er – bother to ask her at all?"

She glanced up just in time to see them exchanging looks that told her she was behaving just as they feared she would. It did nothing to improve her temper.

"We told Lady Satsuki we wanted to tell you what was going on," said Hayate. "We did. But she's really busy now, we've only seen her a few times since we came here and she didn't have much time, she just made us swear not to tell you important stuff when we wrote, she said the Fay might be intercepted."

"What about Carim-sama?" Nanoha said shortly. "She could still have kept me informed if she'd wanted to. She'd know a way to send messages without Fay. Surely she wouldn't have kept things from me, right?"

Fate glanced at Teana and then said," Actually, Nanoha, it was Carim-sama who told Lady Satsuki not to let anyone tell you _anything_."

"So even Carim-sama doesn't think I can be trusted?" said Nanoha, watching their expressions. "She thinks I'll just go blabbing all their secrets to Stern? Well, maybe I should, if Carim-sama thinks I'm a liability."

"Don't go saying stuff like that," said Hayate, looking highly disconcerted.

"Or that I can't take care of myself – "

"Of course she doesn't think that!" said Teana anxiously.

"So how come I have to stay at the Henkens while you four get to join in everything that's going on here?" said Nanoha, the words tumbling over one another in a rush, her voice growing louder with every word. "How come you four are allowed to know everything that's going on - ?"

"We're not!" Subaru interrupted. "Gin-nee won't let us near the meets, says we're not invited – "

Before she knew it, Nanoha was shouting.

"SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE MEETINGS, BIG DEAL! YOU'VE STILL BEEN HERE, HAVEN'T YOU? YOU'VE STILL BEEN TOGETHER! ME, I'VE BEEN STUCK AT THE HENKENS FOR MONTHS! AND I'VE HANDLED MORE THAN ANY OF YOU EVER MANAGED AND CARIM KNOWS IT – WHO SAVED THE BLOOD OF PANACEA? WHO GOT RID OF NETTE'S DEVICE? WHO SAVED ALL OF YOU FROM THE HEARTLESS?"

Every bitter and resentful thought that Nanoha had in the past two months was pouring out of her; her frustration at the lack of news, the hurt that they had all been together without her, her fury at being followed and not told about it: All the feelings she was half-ashamed of finally burst their boundaries. Lucy took flight at the noise and soared on top of the wardrobe again; Squiddy chirped in alarm and zoomed ever faster over their heads.

"WHO HAD TO GET PAST DRAGONS AND PIRATES AND EVERY OTHER DAMN THING LAST YEAR? WHO SAW HER COME BACK? WHO HAD TO ESCAPE FROM HER? WHO WAS THE ONE THAT DRAGGED YOUR SISTER'S BODY BACK, FATE? ME!

The look of her in Fate's face didn't go unnoticed by Nanoha, but she was too angry to care anymore. Teana was standing there with her mouth half-open, clearly stunned and at a loss for anything to say, while Subaru looked on the verge of tears. Only Hayate remained expressionless in the midst of Nanoha's rant.

"BUT WHY SHOULD I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY SHOULD ANYONE BOTHER TO TELL ME WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING?"

"Nanoha-san, we wanted to tell you, we really did – " Teana began.

"CAN'T HAVE WANTED TO THAT MUCH, CAN YOU, OR YOU'D HAVE SENT ME A MESSAGE, BUT _LADY SATSUKI MADE YOU SWEAR _–"

"Well, she did – "

"TWO MONTHS I'VE SEEN STUCK IN ERIKA ROAD, STEALING PAPERS OUT OF THE TRASH TO TRY AND FIND OUT WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON – "

"We wanted to – "

"I SUPPOSE YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A REAL LAUGH, HAVEN'T YOU, ALL HOLED UP HERE TOGETHER! YOU KNOW WHAT I FINALLY FIGURED OUT? WHAT THE REAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STERN AND CARIM IS? STERN IS HONEST! SHE MAY WANT TO DESTROY ALL MAGIC, BUT AT LEAST SHE HAD THE GUTS TO TELL ME STRAIGHT OUT INSTEAD OF KEEPING ME IN THE DARK!"

"…Are you done now?" Hayate asked, sounding surprisingly calm.

Nanoha stared at her for a moment, catching her breath and relaxing her sore throat from all the screaming. After a minute, she leaned against the wall and heaved a heavy sigh before look back up at Hayate.

"Now that' you've calm down," said Hayate coolly. "I understand why you are angry, Nanoha, and you have every right to be furious. But yelling at us isn't going to change anything. What's happened has happened and we need to move on. I know you don't want to forgive us, but you will. Because you're a good person, Nanoha."

Nanoha glared at her, still breathing deeply, then turned away from them again pacing up and down. She hated it. She hated that Hayate was right; as much as she wanted to hate them for the rest of her life, they were her best friends. Lucy chirped glumly from the top of the wardrobe. There was a long pause, broken only by the sound of Nanoha's shoes clapping against the floor.

"What _is _this place anyway?" she shot at her friends."

"The Garden of Time," said Fate at once. "But formally, it is called the House of Testarossa. It has been my family's estate since the end of the Saint King Unification War. And now it serves as the main headquarters for the Order of the Saint King."

"That would explain why everything is so fancy," said Nanoha, staring at the artistic floor molding. "Is anyone going to bother telling me what the Order of the Saint King – "

"It's a secret society that was established following the death of the Saint King, Olivie Sägebrecht," said Hayate. Nanoha stared; Hayate was the last person she would expect to give a history lesson. "When the Saint King Unification War ended and Mid-Childa emerged as the new dominant force, the Saint Church established the Order of the Saint King as a way to keep the power of the TSAB in check. And since the Order of the Saint King is an organization officially established by the Saint Church, the TSAB has no jurisdiction over it.

"The Order of the Saint King always has seven leaders that work as a form of council to decide how the Order will act. You already know that the Seventh Seat belongs to Satsuki Kiryuin, who took her mother's place after she was revealed to be a spy for Stern. The Sixth Seat is Steve Rogers – Captain America. Then there's Batman, then Kisuke Urahara, then Professor Ozpin, and then Edward Elric. The first and top seat belongs to Carim-sama, obviously."

"The Order of the Saint King fought Stern the Destructor last time," Teana added.

"Who's in it?" said Nanoha, coming to a halt with her hands in her pockets.

"We don't know for sure," said Subaru. "We haven't seen them all together before. But Gin-nee said Lady Satsuki is calling every member of the Order of the Saint King here tonight. So far we've seen fifty, but there's probably still more coming."

Nanoha glared at them.

"_Well_?" she demanded, looking from one to the other.

"Er," said Subaru. "Well what?"

"_Stern!_" said Nanoha furiously. "What's happening? What's she up to? Where is she? What are we doing to fight her?"

"We've _told _you, the Order doesn't let us in on their meetings," said Teana nervously. "So we don't know the details – but we've got a general idea – " she added hastily, seeing the look on Nanoha's face.

"Agito and Raine have invented Phantom Flies, see," said Hayate. "They're really useful."

"Phantom Flies?"

"Tiny machines that can phase through solid objects and listen in on conversations. Rather than a fly _on _the wall, we have a fly _in _the wall. Unfortunately, Lady Satsuki found out after we used them the first time and destroyed them. Shamal went berserk. Agito and Rein had to hide the rest to stop Shamal from trashing them. But did listen to some part of the conversation. We know some of the Order are following known Hellions, keeping tabs on them, you know – "

" – some of them are working on recruiting more people to the Order – " said Fate.

" – and some of them are standing guard over something," said Subaru. "They're always talking about guard duty.

"Couldn't have been me, could it?" said Nanoha sarcastically.

"Oh yeah," said Subaru, with a look of dawning comprehension.

"Nanoha snorted. She walked around Fate's room again, looking anywhere but her friends. "So what have you four been doing, if you're not allowed in meetings?" she demanded. "You said you'd been busy."

"We have," said Fate quickly. "Lady Satsuki has been putting us on a tight training regime ever since she first showed up on our doorstep. She felt that must always be prepared for the worst, and she is pretty thorough on what counts as 'the worst'. At the end of each session, we're so tired that we can barely move a muscle, and I think tomorrow she's having us – AARGH!"

Fate fell back on her bed as a gaping hole of pure darkness materialized in front of her and Agito and Rein casually stepping into the room. Squiddy twittered more wildly than ever and zoomed off to join Lucy on top of the wardrobe.

"Stop _doing _that!" Fate snapped at the twins, who were the same as Nanoha had remembered, albeit a little shorter and stockier.

"Hello, Nanoha," said Rein, beaming at her. "We thought we heard your dulcet tones."

"You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, Nanoha, let it all out," said Agito, also beaming. "There ight be a couple of people on the next planet who didn't hear you."

"You two passed your Corridor tests, then?" asked Nanoha grumpily.

"With distinction," said Agito, who was holding what looked like a silver fly in the palm of her hand.

"It would have taken you about thirty seconds longer to walk down the stairs," said Teana.

"Time is credits, Tea," said Agito. "Anyway, Nanoha, you're interfering with reception. Phantom Flies," she added in response to Nanoha's raised eyebrow. "We're trying to hear what's going on downstairs."

"You want to be careful," said Hayate, staring at the fly. "If Shamal sees one of them again…"

"It's worth the risk, they're getting ready for a major meeting," said Agito. "There must be like a hundred people coming in."

The door opened and a long mane of red hair appeared.

"Oh, it's you, Takamachi," said Hayate's younger sister, Vita, grumpily. "I could hear you all the way from downstairs."

Turning to Agito and Rein she said, "It's no go with the Phantom Flies, Lady Satsuki ordered Life Fibers to be implanted in the walls around the meeting halls. Nothing can get through Life Fibers."

"How'd you know that?" said Rein, looking crestfallen.

"Arf told me when I was walking back from the kitchen," said Vita. "She seemed to figure out what I was up to and warned me about the Life Fibers before I went trashing another Fly. We could try passing them through the door, but there's no way Lady Satsuki wouldn't notice."

Agito heaved a deep sigh. "Shame. I was really looking forward to finding out what old Presea's been up to."

"Presea?" said Nanoha quickly. "Is she here?"

"Well, it is her house," said Rein like it was the most obvious thing, which it kinda was. "She's giving a report. Top secret."

"Bitch," said Agito idly.

"That's my mother you're talking about," said Fate menacingly.

"Hayate snorted. "Doesn't stop her from being a bitch. The way she looks at us when she sees us…."

"Zafira isn't fond of her either," said Vita, as though that settled the matter.

Nanoha was not sure her anger had abated yet; but her thirst for information was now overcoming her urge to keep shouting. She sank onto the bed, sitting opposite of the others.

"Is Zafira here?"

"Yeah, he's been coming around the mansion a lot lately," said Agito, smirking. "But not all of it has to do with the Order if you know what I mean…."

"No, I don't know what you mean."

"Arf," said Rein. "He spends more time in the kitchen watching her work than reporting to meetings."

"I'm sure there's a horn dog joke in here somewhere," sniggered Agito.

"Lindy – I mean, mom – is in the Order," said Fate, "so is Chrono-nii-san, but he's still in Mid-Childa taking her Enforcer Examinations. Lady Satsuki wants as many mages inside the Time-Space Administration Bureau as possible, so they don't have a lot of time to spare."

"Is Signum helping too?" Nanoha asked. The last she had heard, the third child of the Yagami family was working in the Wolkenritter – the Cloud Knights – Department under Zafira and was temporary bodyguard for Midget Crowbel.

At these words all the Yagamis, Fate, Teana, and Subaru exchanged darkly significant looks.

"Whatever you do, don't mention Signum in front of Zafira," Hayate told Nanoha in a tense voice.

"Why not?"

"Because every time Signum's name is mentioned, Zafira breaks whatever he's holding and sometimes punches the wall," Agito said.

"It's been awful," said Vita sadly.

"I think we're well done with her," said Rein with an uncharacteristically ugly look on her face.

"What happened?" Nanoha said.

"Signum and Zafira had a fight," said Agito. "I've never seen Zafira fight with anyone like that, not even that bitch Dearche…."

"It was the first week back after term ended," said Hayate. "We were about to come and join the Order. Signum comes home one morning and tells us she'd been promoted. To Zafira's job."

"You're kidding?" said Nanoha.

Though she knew perfectly well that Signum was highly ambitious, Nanoha's impression was that Signum had not made a great success of her first job at the Time-Space Administration Bureau. Signum had committed the fairly large oversight of failing to notice that the person she was guarding was being controlled by Stern the Destructor (not that the Bureau had believed that – they all thought that Crowbel had gone insane).

"Yeah, we were all surprised," said Rein, "because Signum got into a lot of trouble about Crowbel, there was an inquiry and everything. They said Signum should have realized Crowbel was off her rocker and informed a superior. But you know Signum, Crowbel left her in charge, she wasn't going to complain…."

"So how'd she become Zafira's boss?"

"That's exactly what we wondered," said Hayate, who seemed very keen to keep normal conversation going now that Nanoha had stopped yelling. "She came home really pleased with herself – even more pleased than usual if you can imagine that – and told Zafira he'd been demoted and that she was now head of the Wolkenritter. Really impressive for someone who's only a year out of St. Hilde. She expected Zafira to be happy for her, I think."

"Only Zafira wasn't," said Agito grimly.

"Why not?" said Nanoha. "Other than the fact that Zafira got demoted."

"Well, apparently Admiral Kiel has been storming around the Bureau checking that nobody's having any contact with Carim-sama," said Rein.

"Carim-sama's name's mud with the Bureau these days, see," said Agito. "They all think she's just making trouble saying Stern is back."

"Zafira says Admiral Kiel has made it clear that anyone who's in league with Carim-sama can clear out their desks," said Rein.

"Mom – that is, Lindy – is at the top of Admiral Kiel's lists of suspects," said Fate. "He suspects Zafira is maintaining contact with Carim-sama as well, which only makes their jobs harder inside the Bureau."

"But what's this got to do with Signum" asked Nanoha, confused.

"We're coming to that," said Rein. "Zafira thinks Admiral Kiel only gave Signum the job because he wants her to spy on the family – and Carim-sama."

Nanoha let out a low whistle.

"Bet Signum loved that."

Hayate laughed in a hollow sort of way.

"She went completely berserk. She said – well, she said lots of terrible stuff. She said she's been struggling against Zafira's lousy reputation for handling business ever since she joined the Bureau and that Zafira's got no ambition to reach higher goals and that's why we've always been – you know – not had a lot of money, I mean – "

"_What_?" said Nanoha in disbelief, as Vita made a noise like an angry cat.

"I know," said Hayate in a low voice. "And it got worse. She said Zafira was an idiot to run around with Carim-sama, that Carim-sama was heading for big trouble and Zafira was going to go down with her, and that she – Signum – knew where her loyalty lay and it was with the Bureau. And if the rest of us were going to become traitors to the Bureau she was going to make sure everyone knew she didn't belong to our family anymore. And she packed her bags the same night and left. She's living in a high rise apartment in Cranagan now."

Nanoha swore under her breath. She had always liked Signum least of Hayate's sisters, but she had never imagined she would say such things to Zafira.

"Shamal was heartbroken," said Hayate. "You know – crying and stuff. She went up to Cranagan to try and talk to Signum but she slammed the door in her face. I don't know what she does when she meets Zafira at work – ignores him, I guess."

"But Signum _must _know Stern's back," said Nanoha slowly. "She's not stupid, she must know Zafira and Shamal wouldn't risk everything without proof – "

"Yeah, well, your name got dragged into the conversation," said Hayate, shooting Nanoha a furtive look. "Signum said the only evidence was the word of the champions who were at the Games and…well…Mikoto Misaka made a convincing counterargument…she didn't seem to think your word was good enough."

"Signum-san takes the Daily News seriously," said Teana tartly, and the others all nodded.

"What are you talking about?" Nanoha asked, looking around at them all. They were all regarding her warily.

"Haven't – haven't you been getting the Daily News?" Teana asked nervously.

"Yeah, I have!" said Nanoha.

"Have you – er – been reading it thoroughly?" Teana asked still more anxiously.

"Not cover to cover," said Nanoha defensively. "If they were going to report anything about Stern it would be headline news, wouldn't it!"

Hayate slapped a palm to her face, shaking her head exasperatedly. Teana hurried on, "Well, you'd need to read it cover to cover to pick it up, but they – um - they mention you a couple times a week."

"But I'd have seen – "

"Not if you've only been reading the front page, you wouldn't," said Fate, shaking her head. "We're not talking about big articles. They slip you in, like a standing joke."

"What do you - ?"

"It's a bit nasty, actually," said Teana in a voice of forced calm. "They're just building on Cat Grant's stuff."

"But she's not writing for them anymore, is she?"

"Oh no, she's kept her promise – not that she's got any choice," Teana added with satisfaction. "But she laid the foundation for what they're trying to do now."

"Which is _what_?" said Nanoha impatiently.

"Okay, you know she wrote that you were collapsing all over the place and saying your scar was hurting and all that?"

"Yeah," said Nanoha, who was not likely to forget Cat Grant's stories about her in a hurry.

"Well, they're writing about you as though you're this deluded, attention-seeking person who thinks she's a great tragic hero or something," said Subaru, very fast, as though it would be less unpleasant for Nanoha to hear these facts quickly. "They keep slipping in snide comments about you. If some far-fetched story appears they say something like 'a tale worth of Nanoha Takamachi' and if anyone has a funny accident or anything it's 'let's hope he hasn't got a scar on his chest or we'll be asked to worship him next – "

"I don't want anyone to worship – " Nanoha began hotly.

"We know you don't," said Subaru quickly, looking frightened. "We _know_, Nanoha-san. But you see what they're doing? They want to turn you into someone nobody will believe. Admiral Kiel is behind it, I'll bet anything. They want people on the street to think you're just some stupid girl who's a joke, who tell tall stories because she loves being famous and wants to keep it going."

"I didn't ask - I didn't want – _my family is dead!_" Nanoha spluttered. "I got famous because my family is dead and I'm still alive! Who wants to be famous for that? And the worst part is that I can't blame anyone for it! Everyone says Stern killed them, but I looked into her eyes and I know she didn't!"

"We _know_, Nanoha," said Fate earnestly.

"And of course, they didn't report a word about the Heartless attacking you," said Teana. "Someone's told them to keep that quiet. That should've been a really big story, out-of-control Heartless. They haven't even reported that you broke the Interdimensional Statute of Secrecy – we thought they would, it would tie in so well with this image of you as some stupid show-off – we think they're biding their time until you're expelled, then they're really going to go to town – I mean, _if _you get expelled, obviously," she went on hastily, "you really shouldn't be, not if they abide by their own laws, there's no case against you."

They were back on the hearing and Nanoha did not want to think about it. She cast around for another change of subject, but was saved the necessity of finding one by the sound of footsteps coming down the marble hallway.

"Uh-oh."

Agito and Rein clamped together, evaporating into a mist of darkness. Seconds later, Ginga appeared in the bedroom doorway.

"Dinner's about ready, so if you wouldn't mind coming down to help set up, everyone's dying to see you, Nanoha. And Vita, tell Agito and Rein that if they try to pull another stunt with those Phantom Flies again, I'll help Shamal get rid of them."

"Oh, you knew about those," said Vita sheepishly.

"Talon informed e of what you were doing when I was coming up," said Ginga. "Now hurry up and remember to keep your voices down in the halls."

Vita grimaced at the others and followed Ginga out of the room, leaving Nanoha alone with Fate, Hayate, Teana, and Subaru again. All of them were watching her apprehensively, as though they feared that she would start shouting again now that everyone else had gone. The sight of them looking so nervous made her feel slightly ashamed.

"Look…" she muttered, but Hayate shook her head, and Fate said quietly, "We knew you'd be angry, Nanoha, we really don't blame you, but you've got to understand, we _did _try and persuade Lady Satsuki – "

"Yeah, I know," said Nanoha grudgingly.

She cast around for a topic to change the subject from Carim and Satsuki – the very thought of them made Nanoha's insides burn with anger again.

"Who's Talon?" she asked.

"The Housekeeper of the House of Testarossa," said Fate. "She is the one in charge of directing the servants in maintaining the house."

"Meaning she's another slave brainwashed into serving the rich," said Subaru, frowning. "Sorry, Fate-san, but you know it's true."

Hayate rolled her eyes.

"Su-chan still hasn't given up on _oats – _"

"It's not 'oats'!" said Subaru heatedly. "It's the Organization Against the Treatment of Slaves, and it's not just me, Lady Satsuki syas we should be kind to Talon too – "

"Yeah, yeah," said Hayate. "C'mon, I'm starving."

She led the way out of the door, down the hall, and onto the landing, but before they could descent down the stairs – "Hold it!" Hayate breathed, flinging out an arm to stop them from walking any further. "They're still in the hall, we might be able to hear something – "

The five of them look cautiously over the banisters. A small knot of people were gathered on the other end of the spacious foyer below, including all of Nanoha's guard. They were whispering excitedly together. In the very center of the group Nanoha saw the dark, graying weave of her least favorite teacher at St. Hilde and her best friend's mother, Presea Testarossa. She leaned farther over the banisters. She was very interested in what Presea was doing for the Order of the Saint King….

A soft buzzing noise drew Nanoha's attention. Looking up she saw Agito and Rein in the landing above, fiddling a remote that Nanoha assumed controlled the Phantom Fly. A moment later, however, the huddled group began to move toward the front door and out of sight.

"Dammit," Nanoha heard Presea whisper, as she called back the Phantom Fly.

They heard the front door opena dn then close.

"Mother never stays to eat anymore," Fate said sadly. "I know we get a lot of guests these days, but sometimes it feels lonely.

"That's your opinion," said Hayate. "C'mon. And don't forget to keep your voice down. The last thing we need is for Talon to bite our heads off. That's not an expression – she will really bite you."

As they walked down the stairs, passing many Twi'leks that bowed to Fate in respect, they saw Yuuno, Ginga, and Nove at the front door, magically sealing its many locks and bolts behind those who had just left.

"The Order is having their meeting in the Great Hall," Ginga whispered, meeting them at the bottom of the stairs. "You girls will be eating in the kitchen. Talon will come by soon to – "

_**CRASH!**_

"You dunce! Were you even paying attention to where you were going? How does someone walk into a suit of armor?"

"I'm sorry!"

Nanoha recognized that voice; she had worked with the owner of that voice for months during the Grand Magic Games. She tilted her head and sure enough Ruby Rose could be seen next to a pile of broken armor pieces, being berated by the infamous Weiss Schnee.

"Ruby?" said Nanoha. "What are you doing here?"

"Whoa, hey, Nanaka – " Ruby began excitedly.

"Nanoha – "

" – Nanoha!" Ruby corrected herself. "I didn't know you were invited to the Order meeting too."

"Wait, you guys were invited to the Order meeting?" said Nanoha, anger starting to bubble in her stomach again. "You two, barely a year older than me, were invited to join the Order of the Saint King while I was trapped on a Non-Administrated world."

Ruby and Weiss stared awkwardly at one another while Fate and her friends shifted on their feet, possibly thinking of what to say before Nanoha blew up in their faces again. They were spared an explanation when a distinct sound rang through the entrance hall.

In sounded like the click of a heel.

"Shades up!" Hayate shouted, pulling on a pair of sunglasses with everyone else.

"What are you – AHH! MY EYES!" Nanoha screamed.

A burst of powerful light inexplicitly filled the room, burning into Nanoha's retina and making her fall over backwards. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, quickly adjusting to the brightness of the room, and glared up at the person who had entered the room. But the moment Nanoha locked eyes with her; she felt her whole body tense up like she had been flash frozen.

A tall woman of impressive stature towered over Nanoha, leering down upon her eyes critical eyes that made Nanoha feel miniscule by comparison. Everything about the woman from her long, silky black hair to her steely blue eyes to her unnaturally large eyebrows screamed of authority and commanded discipline. Even her uniform was intimidating – Nanoha swore those were two eyes of evil staring back at her.

The woman slammed the butt of her sword into the ground and Nanoha flipped to her knees without even realizing it, suddenly feeling the urge to bow her head. She wasn't the only one; everyone in the entrance hall had fallen in line and kneeled; even the proud Weiss Schnee. The woman clicked her heel again and spoke with a commanding voice that even Nanoha did not dare to defy.

"Fear is freedom from arrogance! Subjugation is the liberation of ignorance! Contradiction is the truth to all lies! These are the facts of the world! Facts that those pigs in the Time-Space Administration Bureau blatantly ignore and shall utterly lead to their downfall! Our enemy, Stern the Destructor, is aware of these truths and becomes stronger because of it! That is why we will surrender to these truths is we are to survive! Do you understand, Nanoha Takamachi?"

"I – I guess," Nanoha said, suddenly too nervous to speak properly. "You – I mean to say…ma'am – who are you?"

"I am Satsuki Kiryuin! Student Council President of Honnoji Academy! Seventh Seat of the Order of the Saint King! I am now, and forever more, your superior, Nanoha Takamachi!"

**SATSUKI KIRYUIN  
>STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT OF HONNOJI ACADEMY<br>SEVENTH SEAT OF THE ORDER OF THE SAINT KING**

Nanoha stared oddly as Satsuki's – Lady Satsuki, Nanoha corrected herself subconsciously – name and various titles popped into the background behind her in gigantic red lettering. Seconds later, a gigantic blonde man in a white uniform with three black stars picked up the title cards and carried them away.

"Did that guy just – " Nanoha began strangely.

"Don't think about it too much," said Hayate.

"Ruby Rose!" Lady Satsuki yelled. Ruby yelped frightfully. "You have – intentionally or not – damaged the property of those who have opened their homes to us! Show gratitude to the House of Testarossa and clean your mess! NOW!"

Ruby squeaked and zipped back over to the suit of armor, using her semblance of speed to try to rebuild it as fast as she could.

"Ginag Nakajima, where is it that you are taking Nanoha Takamachi and her friends?" Lady Satsuki asked, her voice leveling.

"To the kitchen, Lady Satsuki," said Ginga. "They haven't had dinner yet."

"Then they shall join me in the Great Hall," said Lady Satsuki, earning confused stares from those who dared look. "The meeting of the member of the Order of the Saint King is starting soon. Though a warm meal would put everyone in a better mood. I shall inform the house staff to prepare enough food for everyone."

"Lady Satsuki…," Fate said hesitantly, "are you…inviting us to join the Order?"

"All of you have some involvement to what is taking place," said Lady Satsuki. "Most of all, Nanoha Takamachi. If anyone is most deserving of information on the coming war, it should be the one who has faced Stern the Destructor. Come!"

Satsuki turned with a click of her heels – Nanoha suddenly had the strength to move again. She looked around at the others. Hayate and Subaru did nothing to hide their excitement, but Fate and Teana looked just as apprehensive as Ginga. But Nanoha didn't care. She was finally going to get the answers she wanted. Nanoha jumped to her feet and followed closely behind Lady Satsuki, who had reached the other end of the hall and threw open the doors.

The Testarossa's great hall was not as large as the one at St. Hilde, but it was certainly more elegant. Thousands upon thousands of small diamonds floated through the air, glittering like tiny stars. Five long tables of polished mahogany were lined up in rows leading to the single round table centered at the end of the great hall. There were at least sixty seated to a table, meaning there were at least three hundred people present, all of them absorbed in conversation. Nanoha recognize a few of them: Ichigo Kurosaki was talking to Byakuya Kuchiki, who Nanoha had met at Toshiro's captaincy party. The captain of the Strawhat Pirates that escorted Vaizen last year was arm wrestling with the new Ms. Marvel. Maka and Soul – Hades students of the same year – were talking to Black Star and Death the Kidd before Soul said something stupid that made Maka hit him over the head with a textbook.

Nanoha flinched as Lady Satsuki rested a hand on her should and stood beside her.

"Welcome, Nanoha Takamachi, to the Order of the Saint King," said Lady Satsuki.

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><p><strong>Nanoha has finally made it to the headquarters of the Order of the Saint King and has been invited to join by Lady Satsuki herself. Now is the time for Nanoha to finally reconnect with her other life, but will it be worth it? In the next chapter, the Order of the Saint King sits down for a nice dinner before Lady Satsuki delivers the bad news. What answers await Nanoha after being shut away for so long? Will Nanoha be able to forgive her friends? And how badass is Lady Satsuki? Find out in the next chapter of the Fairy Tail!<strong>

**Please, read and review.**

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><p><em><strong>~Nanoha's Corner~<strong>_

**#1: Rich**

Hayate was sitting in the living room of the Testarossa family household, reading the latest article in Sorcerer Weekly, when Fate walked in after giving Subaru and Teana a tour of the Garden of Time.

"I still can't believe you get to live here, Fate-san!" Subaru squeaked excitedly.

"I can't believe it myself," said Teana, awestruck. "Five Olympic pools, ten different types of courts, a shooting range, a personalized Danger Room, a kitchen with a five-star cooking staff, a private laboratory complete with the latest tech, a hall of trophies – you guys even have your own moon!"

"Just one of the perks of being rich," Fate said proudly.

Hayate finally put down the magazine as Fate led Teana and Subaru out of the room.

"If they're so rich…," said Hayate, looking up at the filming studio's catwalks and stage lights, "why can't they afford a ceiling?"

* * *

><p><strong><span>#2: Kill La Killed<span>**

Ginga Nakajima was making her rounds around the House of Testarossa, making sure that none of Yagami Twin's Phantom Flies were spying on anyone again. After Lady Satsuki had caught Agito and Rein the first time, she had made it vividly clear that if she ever caught the two of them spying, Shamal would be the least of their worries. Ginga shuddered. When Lady Satsuki was angry, it could be scarier than the one time she accidentally walked in on her father in the shower. Ginga shuddered again.

Ginga turned the corner of the fourth floor when she suddenly tripped over something and fell on her face. Rubbing her throbbing nose, Ginga turned over and glared. A title card with "UZU SANAGEYAMA" written in bold red letters was lying on the floor, looking like it had been thrown aside casually.

"Sanageyama, what have I told you about leaving your name lying around?" Ginga yelled.

Ginga picked up the title card and walked over to the closet. When she turned the handle and opened threw open the door, Ginga screamed as an avalanche of title cards spilled over and buried her in a shower of bulging red letters. Staring up at the ceiling, trapped beneath a combination of RYUKO MATOI, IRA GAMAGOORI, and NONON JAKUZURE, Ginga groaned angrily.

"I'm going to get them back or my name isn't Ginga Nakajima," said Ginga. A bold red title card spelling "Ginga Nakajima" popped out of the air and landed on her face. "OH, COME ON!"


	5. The Order of the Saint King

**Nanoha and the Fairy Tail**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
>Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators <strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter Five: The Order of the Saint King<span>**

"This is - ?"

"The Order of the Saint King, yes," said Lady Satsuki. "As you can see, our numbers have swelled dramatically since the Order of the Saint King was last gathered. In the old days, there was at least twenty or thirty of us. Now we are gathering members by the hundreds. And we are still recruiting any who have not been taken in by the Time-Space Administration Bureau's lies. It is part of the reason why we were so eager to use the Garden of Time as our base of operations."

"Aren't those the champions from the Grand Magic Games?" asked Fate, pointing to the individuals.

"Everyone who had encountered Stern the Destructor was invited to join the Order immediately," said Lady Satsuki. "Their experiences may prove invaluable when we face her again."

"So why was I left alone on Erika Road?" said Nanoha, her temper rising again.

"Carim Gracia will explain herself when she feels the time is right," said Lady Satsuki. Nanoha opened her mouth to say something until Satsuki clicked her heels, making Nanoha close her mouth again. "I don't have time to deal with your temper tantrum, Nanoha Takamachi. Everyone take your seat – I must inform the house staff to prepare meals for everyone present."

Lady Satsuki clicked her heels again as she turned and swept out the hall. Nanoha glared at her retreating backside. She had a lot she wanted to say to the so-called Lady, but she thought it best not to push her luck any more than she already has. Lady Satsuki was willing to include her in the Order's meeting and she was not about to blow her chance.

As Nanoha walked down the row of the middle table, her friends scattered to other parts.

Subaru and Teana sat in a close circle with Ginga, Dieci, Cinque, Nove, and a pink-haired woman Nanoha assumed was Subaru's remaining sister Wendi. Fate naturally gravitated toward the seat next to Admiral Lindy and Chrono Harlaown, instantly sparking conversation with her step-mother. Nanoha knew she shouldn't have been surprised when Hayate took an empty seat next to a beautiful raven-haired woman in red. She leaned in close and said something in the woman's ear that made her giggle. Hayate gave her best flirtatious grin and started to say something else when she was suddenly ripped out off her chair by a tan, muscular woman in blue.

Nanoha trotted down the row, very aware of many people's heads turning to get a better look at her, some familiar but most she didn't recognize. At the middle of the table, she noticed Shamal and Zafira were talking quietly with their heads together. Shamal was noticeably thinner and paler than she had been last time Nanoha had seen her. Zafira, a tall, muscular white-haired man, looked around as he heard Nanoha's footsteps.

"Nanoha!" Shamal said, hurrying forward to greet her and hug her tightly. "Good to see you!"

Over her shoulder Nanoha saw Zafira hastily rolling up the lengths of paper on the table.

"Journey all right, Nanoha?" Zafira called, trying to gather up twelve scrolls at once. "Jellal didn't make you come via South Korea, then?"

"I'm sure he tried," said Nanoha.

As Zafira tried collecting the papers faster, one of them slipped through his arms and fell to the floor. Nanoha picked it up. It looked like the floor plan to some kind of building. Before Nanoha could look at it in depth, the paper was snatched out of her hand by Shamal and shoved into Zafira's heavily laden arms.

"This sort of thing ought to be cleared away promptly before someone sees it," she snapped.

Zafira muttered something under his breath as he stuffed the papers into his jacket.

"You shouldn't have to hide anything from me," said Nanoha. "I'm a member of the Order of the Saint King now – Lady Satsuki personally invited me a few minutes ago. I deserve to know - "

"You are allowed to know what Lady Satsuki says you deserve to know," said Zafira. "And right now, all you need to know is what Lady Satsuki has prepared for this meeting. Now, sit down, Nanoha. You've met Argit, haven't you?"

Across the table, the porcupine alien gave a prolonged, grunting snore and then jerked awake.

"Someone say my name?" Argit mumbled sleepily. "It wasn't me; I swear it was like that when I got here."

"Waste of space if I ever seen one," said Zafira. "But he has his uses and sometimes you have to get dirty to get a job done."

"And none get dirtier than Argit," said a woman to Zafira's left.

"Hey – I resemble that remark!" Argit snapped.

"That reminds me, there are a few people here you haven't met yet, Nanoha," said Zafira. He gestured toward the woman next to him. "This is Rogue. She's one of the X-Men."

"Hey, suga'," said Rogue sweetly.

"And that's Shiroe – people call him the Villain in Glasses," The cloak man across from them tilted his glasses up. "Itachi Uchiha – he's a member of the ANBU, same as Yugao." An older man with very pronounced tear-troughs nodded absently. "Raven – Titan and daughter of Trigon." A hood woman hummed softly. "And I'm sure you recognize Erza Scarlet."

"It's been a while, Nanoha," said Erza, smiling kindly. "Are you're Barrier Jacket's still fitting you? If not, I could give you a measurement after the meeting."

"I'm fine, thank you," said Nanoha.

"This is the largest meeting the Order has had in years," said Zafira. "There are hundreds of people here even I don't recognize. During the last war, they kept their numbers small because they weren't certain of whom they could trust. But that ended up costing them when Stern the Destructor started overwhelming them with numbers. And Lady Satsuki's mother turning out to be a spy for the other side, they were outsmarted at every turn. Carim-sama chose to increase the number of members this time around so as not to suffer the same mistake, but Lady Satsuki is very careful of who is admitted into the Order. You've seen her up close – you know how influential she can be."

From the way Zafira had described it, the last war had not been as favorable as she had been led to believe. Whenever someone talked about the last Great Magic War, everyone spoke as if the Time-Space Administration Bureau had held the upper hand, while crediting Carim for pushing Stern into a corner before she met her end at the Takamachi household. But not that Nanoha thought about it, the more she began to think it was just more TSAB propaganda to make the Bureau seem more powerful and reliable than they already were. It was like Stern had said before – the Bureau will do anything to save face.

When Nanoha didn't say anything in reply to Zafira, an awkward period of silence passed over them. The Great Hall was far from quiet with the endless amounts of chatter surrounding them, but it was a little uncomfortable just sitting there with everyone staring at her. Argit yawned loudly, putting his hairy feet on the table as her stared across at Nanoha.

"So…seen freaky deaky ninja lady since last time?" he asked.

"No," said Nanoha, "I haven't seen anyone.

"So about that night," said Argit, fidgeting with the tip of one of his quills, "you know I wouldn't just abandon ya like that. I mean, we're buddies, pals, old friends…"

"**She never met you before that night**," said Raising Heart.

"Detail, details," said Argit, waving. "The point is, I would never leave ya hanging, pal, but I had a business opportunity – "

Someone punched Argit across the face suddenly, sending him slumping unconscious on the ground. Nanoha looked over and jumped out of her seat when her older half-sister, Arf Takamachi, wiping her knuckles clean on a dirty rag.

"Onee-chan!" Nanoha yelled happily, hugging her sister across the table. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, Nanoha," said Arf, brushing her long orange out of her face. She took Argit's seat and sat across from Nanoha, flashing a grin as Zafira for a second before turning back to her sister. "You had a good holiday?"

"No, it's been lousy," said Nanoha.

Arf raised her hand over her mouth to hide her laughter, which failed dismally.

"Don't know what you're complaining about, myself."

"_What?_" said Nanoha incredulously.

"Personally, I'd have welcomed a Heartless Attack. A deadly struggle for my heart would have broken the monotony nicely. You have it bad, at least you've been able to get out and about, stretching your legs, get into a few fights….I've been trapped in this house for months. I'm not even allowed to go out for groceries like I used to. Never imagined the day when I'd missing doing chores for that old hag, but Presea is very adamant in keeping me here."

"How come?" asked Nanoha, frowning.

"Not counting your aunt, uncle, and cousin, I'm the only family you have left. Carim-sama is convinced that Stern will try to capture me as bait to lure you out. Only a handful of people know I'm a shapeshifter, but that also includes Due, the Combat Cyborg working for Stern."

"**But Due is in Gefangnis, isn't she?**" asked Raising Heart.

"With the Heartless running the place, it's only a matter of time before Stern busts out all her followers," said Arf. "Once that happens, Stern will know what I look like, so my disguise will be useless outside here and St. Hilde. So I've spent the past two months helping the cleaning and cooking staff. There's not much I can do for the Order of the Saint King…or so Carim-sama feels."

There was something about the slightly flattened tone of voice in which Arf uttered Carim's name that told Nanoha that Arf was not very happy with the headmistress either. Nanoha felt a sudden upsurge of affection for her half-sister.

"At least you've know what's been going on," she said bracingly.

"Oh yeah," said Arf sarcastically. "Listening to Presea's reports, having to take all her snide hints that she's out there risking her life while I'm folding the laundry and waxing the floors. And if that isn't enough, the Housekeeper is constantly on my ass about something – too much starch in the cloths, not enough soap for cleaning dishes, etc. She's a nightmare. You'd think she was a Sith."

"Ugh…my head…," Argit was up, rubbing the sore spot on his head as he glared at Arf. "What was that for?"

"You abandoned my sister to make some back alley deal!" Arf snapped. "Of course I'd be pissed."

"Well you didn't have to hit so hard," Argit mumbled, taking a seat on the floor. "Since you were talking about this lovely home you are so fortunate to be staying in, talking me something, Arfy baby. Are those solid silver cups in the kitchen I spied earlier?"

"Yes," said Arf, surveying him with distaste. "Finest early-century Galean-mined silver, embossed with the Testarossa family crest. Since Galea no longer exists, the silver is a thousand times more valuable….Don't go thinking of stealing them, you little rat. Talon keeps count."

"What? I would never – " Argit began, but was interrupted when the doors flew open.

Nanoha turned around in her seat along with the rest of the Order. Lady Satsuki marched into the Great Hall leading a small army of Twi'lek servants, all skillfully balancing heavy serving trays in their small hands.

"Apologizes for my lateness," Lady Satsuki said, her voice still hard and firm. "All of you have traveled a great distance to attend this meeting, many of whom have only become aware at the last minute. As a show of thanks for your attendance, I have asked that the house staff prepare a meal for the Order so that we may take our fill before the meeting begins."

The greater majority of the Order clapped politely as Lady Satsuki walked down the aisle, heading for the round table at the farthest end, while some, like Black Star and Ruby's sister, gave a loud cheer. It was only after the Twi'leks started setting the tables that Nanoha realized how hungry she was. The food at the Henkens hardly kept her fed, but having been skimping on meals for four days straight was making her stomach rumble uncomfortably. Nanoha could feel her mouth salivating as a succulent, juicy roast was set in front of her, next to a plate of smoked salmon, a tub of steaming white rice, freshly baked potatoes, boats of smooth gravy, and a pile of sweet rolls.

Across the table, Arf smirked.

"Feeling hungry, are ya?" she said.

"Starving," said Nanoha.

"Well, just hold on a minute," said Arf. "Wait until Lady Satsuki says it's time to eat. She's the one providing this meal and it would be rude to eat before."

Nanoha looked up the Great Hall to Lady Satsuki, who had seated herself at the round table surrounded by three men and one woman, each wearing a white uniform with three stars. The girl sitting next to her was shorter with a red streak in her hair wearing a uniform that looked exactly like Lady Satsuki's except black in color – they looked like they could be sisters. Lady Satsuki crossed her legs elegantly as an elderly butler arrived attentively at her side, slowly pouring cups of tea for each of them. Nanoha really wished they would hurry up.

"Shamal, having you seen Agito or Rein anyway?" asked Zafira, looking around.

"No, I haven't, but if they – HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO THAT?" Shamal shrieked.

Many of the members seated fell out of their chairs, including Nanoha, when a pool of dark mass burst from the floor next to them and Agito and Rein stepped out. If their sudden appearance hadn't gained everyone's attention, then Shamal's yelling certainly did the trick. Nanoha slowly returned to her seat and lowered her head, not wanting to get caught in the middle of everything. She could see Lady Satsuki narrowed her eyes at the Yagamis who had disturbed the peace of the Testarossa's Great Hall, but Shamal did not seem to have noticed – she was focused on the twins.

"FOR SAINT KING'S SAKE!" screamed Shamal. "THERE WAS NO NEED – I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS – JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC NOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO USING IT FOR EVERY TINY LITTLE THING!"

"We were just trying to save a bit of time!" said Agito. "It's not like we were doing anything wrong. Just wanted to – "

"Girls," Zafira said, "Shamal is right, you're supposed to show a sense of responsibility now you've come of age – "

" – none of the rest of this family caused so much trouble for other people!" Shamal raged at the twins, slamming her fist on the table hard enough to make Nanoha jump. "You don't see me using the corridors every few feet! Zafira doesn't magic everything he meets! Signum – "

She stopped dead, catching her breath with a frightened look at Zafira, whose expression was suddenly wooden. The sudden silence made it painfully aware that no one in the Great Hall was talking; many of them were looking down at their plates or anywhere that wasn't the Yagamis.

"Let's eat," said Lady Satsuki.

For a few minutes there was silence but for the chinks of plates and cutlery and the scraping of chairs as everyone settled down to their food. Then Shamal turned to Arf and said, "I've been meaning to tell you, there's something trapped in the writing desk on the third floor, it keeps rattling and shaking."

"Probably just those dwarves again," said Arf indifferently. "I don't know how they keep getting back in after we keep kicking them out. I'll tell one of the staff to look into it."

At the table behind Arf, the Nakajima sisters were locked in loud conversation, their limbs flailing everywhere trying to reach their favorite food. Ginga was elegant and proper, using her knife and fork like a proper woman, as opposed to Cinque, who stabbed everything with a dagger. Nove was arguing with Wendi over who would claim the largest bit of turkey, both of whom lost when Dieci stealthily stole it from under their noses. Subaru was perhaps the messiest eater, having disregarded cutler entire in favor of her hands and ripping the chicken meat with her teeth like a starved animal. Next to her, Teana sighed.

"How did I ever fall in love with an idiot like you…"

Subaru snapped to Teana, accidentally spraying her with bits of chicken. Teana closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and reached for her napkin. Nanoha had to hand it to her; Teana had more patience than her.

Lindy, Chrono, and Fate were having an intense discussion on the Mariage at the table behind her.

"They're not giving anything away yet," said Chrono. "I can't work out whether they believe she's back or not. 'Course, they might prefer not taking side at all. Not since the Unification War."

"I'm sure they'd never go over to Stern," said Lindy, shaking her head. "They've suffered losses too. I remember when Carim-sama persuaded a group of rogue Mariage to help in the fight at Ignitus. They'll never trust Carim-sama again, but they won't be tempted to join Stern either."

"I think it depends what they're offered," said Fate. "And I'm not talking about credits; if they're offered freedoms the TSAB has been denying them for centuries they're going to be interested. Have you still not had any luck in finding the Flame King of Hades?"

"The Mariage aren't giving an inch," said Chrono. "They're definitely hiding something from the TSAB, but I'm starting to think that the rumors of the Flame King still being alive are just tall tales. The last time the Flame King was sighted was during the Unification War – and that was a thousand years ago – "

A gale of laughter across the table drowned the rest of Chrono's words. Agito, Rein, and Argit were rolling around in their seats.

"…and then," choked Argit, tears running down his face, "and then, if you'll believe it, he says to me, he says, 'hey, Argit, where didja get all them puffskins from? 'Cause some son of a Vilgax's gone and stole all mine!' And I says, 'Stole all your puffskins, Kutch, what next? So you'll be wanting some more, then?' And if you'll believe me, the brainless baboon buys all his own puffskins off me for twice what he paid in the first place – "

"I don't think we need to hear any more of your business dealings, thank you very much, Argit," said Shamal sharply, as Rein slumped forward onto the table, howling with laughter.

"Don't get your panties in a twist," said Argit at once, wiping his eyes and winking at Nanoha. "But, you know, Kutch stole them from Warty Wignum in the first place so I wasn't doing anything wrong – "

"I don't know where you learned about right and wrong, Argit, but you seem to have missed a few crucial lessons," said Shamal coldly.

Agito and Rein buried their faces in their cups of green tea; Rein was hiccupping. For some reason, Shamal threw a very nasty look at Arf before getting to her feet and going to fetch a large apple crumble down the table. Nanoha looked round at her half-sister.

"Shamal doesn't approve of Argit," said Arf in an undertone.

"How come he's in the Order?" Nanoha said quietly.

"He's useful," Arf muttered. "Has conenctions to every underground network in the galaxy – he would, seeing as he runs a large operation himself. He owes Carim-sama more than a few dozen favors for pulling hiss ungrateful ass out of the fire with the TSAB. It pays to have someone like Argit around, he hears things we don't. But Shamal thinks inviting him to attend the meetings is overstepping things. She hasn't forgiven him for slipping off duty when he was supposed to be tailing you."

Three helpings of apple crumble and a gallon of cranberry juice later and stomach felt like it was nearing to burst. She lay down her spoon in a lull in the general conversations of the hall. Zafira was leaning back in his chair, looking replete and relaxed, Arf was yawning widely, and Agito and Rein were playing table soccer using bottle corks; Rein was holding an impressive lead.

"Nearly time for bed, I think," said Shamal on a yawn.

"Not just yet, Shamal," said Arf, pushing away her empty plate and turning to look down the table at Lady Satsuki. "The real meeting is about to start."

Lady Satsuki stood from the round table with a click of her heels, drawing everyone's eyes to her. The atmosphere in the room changed with the rapidity Nanoha associated with the arrival of Heartless. Where seconds before it had been sleepily relaxed, it was now alert, even tense. A frisson had gone around the tables as Lady Satsuki walked around her comrades until she stood at the forefront of the great hall, stance firm and sword held with dignity.

"I thank you all for your patience," Lady Satsuki spoke evenly. "That we have all taken our fill, it is time we move to the matters at hand and begin this meeting of the Order of the Saint King. I would like to – "

"Forgive me, Lady Satsuki," said Shamal. "But I must insist that Nanoha and her friends be excused. They are too young."

She was sitting bolt upright in her chair, her fists clenched upon its arms, every trace of drowsiness gone.

"Nanoha Takamachi and her friends were personally invited by me," said Lady Satsuki, narrowing her eyes on Shamal as if daring her to question her decision. "Nanoha Takamachi has been isolated for months by the Order when she holds the most involvement of our affairs. She has many questions that deserve answers – "

"Hang on!" interrupted Rein loudly.

"How come Nanoha gets her questions answered so easily?" said Agito angrily.

"_We've _been trying to get stuff out of you for months and you haven't told us a single stinking thing!" said Rein.

"'_You're too young, you're not in the Order_," said Agito, in a high-pitched voice that sounded uncannily like Shamal's. "Nanoha's not even of age!"

"It is not my fault you haven't been told what the Order is doing," said Lady Satsuki calmly. "That is the decision of your guardians. Nanoha Takamachi, on the other hand – "

"It's not down to you to decide what's good for Nanoha!" said Shamal sharply. The bulking blonde at the round table looked ready to jump at her, but Lady Satsuki held her hand for him to remain seated. "You haven't forgotten what Carim-sama said, I suppose?"

"And what might that be, Shamal Yagami?" Lady Satsuki asked politely, but with an air as though ready to strike her down the moment she stepped out of line.

"That you are not to tell Nanoha more than she _needs to know_," said Shamal, placing heavy emphasis on the last three words.

All the members of the Order of the Saint King turned their heads from Lady Satsuki to Shamal as though following a tennis rally. Nanoha noticed that many of the members looked scared and some of them were halfway ducking under the table as if preparing for an explosion. Apparently, very few dared to question Lady Satsuki, and those who did would not come out for the better.

"And who are you to tell me what Nanoha Takamachi what she _needs to know_, Shamal Yagami?" Lady Satsuki yelled; Shamal flinched. "Who are you to question the word and wisdom of your superiors? Be grateful that I do not have you punished for speaking out of turn, Shamal Yagami! Nanoha Takamachi is just one of many who have attended this meeting who have witnessed the resurrection of Stern the Destructor! They are the ones who have suffered more than any for her return! They have earned their place here - !"

"But can't be a member of the Order of the Saint King!" said Shamal. "She's only fifteen – "

"Ruby Rose is only sixteen, Miles Morales is thirteen, and there are many members who are even younger," Lady Satsuki countered. "Yet you do you argue for them, only Nanoha Takamachi, who has dealt with more than you can imagine – "

"No one's denying what she's done!" said Shamal, her voice trembling. "But she's still – "

"She is not a child, Shamal!" Arf snapped impatiently.

"She's not an adult either!" said Shamal, the color rising in her cheeks. "She's not _Shiro_, Arf!"

"I'm perfectly clear who she is, thank you, Shamal," said Arf coldly, slowly standing from her seat. "But if you _ever _bring talk about my father like that again, I will drag you outside and bury you so deep that no one will find you for a hundred years."

"You always act so rashly, Arf, which is why Carim-sama keeps reminding you to stay at home and – "

"We'll leave my instructions from Carim-sama out of this, if you please!" said Arf loudly.

"Zafira!" said Shamal, rounding on her brother. "Zafira, back me up!"

Zafira did not speak at once. He took a deep breath, clearly lost in thought, then turned his gaze to Lady Satsuki. He steely gaze sent a clear message that her actions were not to be questioned, to which Zafira only breathed a heavy sigh as he said, "Carim-sama knows the position has changed, Shamal. Otherwise, Lady Satsuki would never have invited Nanoha in the first place. I'm sure Lady Satsuki will only fill her in to a certain extent now that she is staying at headquarters – "

"Yes, but there's a difference between that and inviting her to ask whatever she likes!"

"Personally," said Lindy from the next table, as Shamal turned quickly to her, hopeful that finally she was about to get an ally, "I think it's better that Nanoha gets the facts – not all the facts, Shamal, but the general picture – from us, rather than a garbled version from…others."

Her expression was mild, but Nanoha felt sure that Lindy, at least, knew some Phantom Flies had survived Shamal's purge.

"Well," said Shamal, breathing deeply and looking around the hall for support that did not come, "well…I can see I'm going to be overruled. I'll say this: Carim-sama must have had her reasons for not wanting Nanoha to know too much, and speaking as someone who has got Nanoha's best interests at heart – "

"She's not your daughter," said Arf quietly.

"She's as good as," said Shamal fiercely. "Who else has she got?"

"She's got me!"

"Yes," said Shamal, her lip curling. "The thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after her while you've been locked up in Gefangnis, hasn't it?"

Arf gave a rather beastly growl and looked ready to lunge.

"ENOUGH!" Lady Satsuki said sharply, slamming her sword against the ground. "Shamal Yagami, you are not the only person in this room who cares for Nanoha Takamachi's wellbeing. So I must ask that you refrain from acting so selfishly. Arf Takamachi, sit _down_."

Shamal's lower lip was trembling. Arf sank slowly back into her chair, her face white.

"If anything else, Nanoha Takamachi should be allowed a say in this matter," Lady Satsuki continued. "She is old enough to decide for herself."

"I want to know what's been going on," Nanoha said at once.

She did not look at Shamal. She had been touched by what Shamal had said about her being as good as a daughter, but she was also impatient at the mollycoddling….Arf was right, she was _not _a child.

"Very well," said Shamal, her voice cracking. "Vita – Hayate – Fate – Teana – Subaru – Agito – Rein – I want you upstairs, now."

"I have already consented for my daughter to attend this meeting," said Lindy at once.

"The same could be said of my daughters," said Genya Nakajima. "And as Teana Lanster's legal guardian, she will be allowed to stay as well."

"Fine!" Shamal hissed. "Hayate – Vita – Agito – Rein – upstairs!"

There was instant uproar.

"We're of age!" Agito and Rein bellowed together.

"If everyone else is allowed, why can't I?" shouted Hayate.

"That's not fair!" wailed Vita.

"NO!" shouted Shamal, standing up, her eyes overbright. "I absolutely forbid – "

"Shamal, you can't stop Agito and Rein," said Zafira wearily. "They _are _of age – "

"They're still at school – "

"But they're legally adults now," said Zafira in the same tired voice.

Shamal was now scarlet in the face.

"I –oh, all right then, Agito and Rein can stay, but Hayate – "

"Carim Gracia informed me recently that she wishes for Hayate Yagami to begin attending Order meetings," Lady Satsuki interrupted. "She seems to think something special of her – of what I have no idea – and wants her to be well-informed of the Orders movements. You have the nerve to question me, Shamal Yagami, but even you won't question Gracia."

Nanoha craned her head over to get a better look at Hayate, who looked just as dumbfounded as Nanoha. It wasn't the first time that Hayate had suddenly become the central focus in Carim's priorities. Just last year, following the resurrection of Stern, Carim had vastly interested in Hayate's safety that in their final weeks at St. Hilde, Nanoha could tell there was at least one Shinigami following her around. Not to sound arrogant, but what was so important about Hayate?

"Fine!" shouted Shamal. "Fine! Vita – BED!"

Vita did not go quietly. They could hear her raging and storming at Shamal all the way up the stairs, and when they reached the hall, there was an earsplitting _clang_ that told them Vita had kicked over a suit of armor. Ruby moaned about having to clean it up from her table. It was only after Yuuno walked over, closed the door, and took his seat at his table again, that Lady Satsuki spoke.

"Commander Miho Nishizumi! Present yourself!"

"H-Hai!"

A girl from the farthest table on the left jumped out of her seat, marching to the front and standing below Lady Satsuki. With soft brown eyes and short-cut hair, the girl barely looked like she was still in high school, though instead of a typical school uniform, she was a military jacket. A military school maybe?

"Commander Nishizumi, please review all the Order has on the situation for those just joining us," said Lady Satsuki.

"Yes, Lady Stasuki," said Command Nishizumi. She pulled out a thin pad and pushed a button, creating a large projection for everyone in the great hall to see. It was a picture of Stern, before she took Nanoha's form. "Two months ago, on the twenty-fourth of January, six eyewitnesses reported Stern the Destructor returning to power, added with the confirm death of Alicia Testarossa and Mikoto Misaka's unexpected betrayal. Since her return, Stern has made no move to make herself known to the public."

"Stern doesn't want to draw attention to herself," said Lindy. "She's taking advantage of the public's ignorance to organize her followers and reestablish her old connections. She had a lot of influence, both inside the TSAB and the Order itself. Thankfully we managed to root them out when Ragyo showed her true colors. Thankfully, Stern messed up during her resurrection."

"Or rather, the champions messed it up for her," said Yuuno with a satisfied smile.

"How?" Nanoha asked perplexedly.

"You weren't supposed to survive!" said Arf. "Nobody apart from her Hellions was supposed to know she'd come back. But you six survives to bear witness. And the last person she wanted to alert was Carim-sama – she's the only person that Stern ever truly feared. And thanks to you kids, Carim-sama was able to recall the Order of the Saint King about an hour after Stern retruned."

"Stern wasn't trying to kill us!" Nanoha snapped suddenly, making a lot of people stare at her strangely. "She was just trying to take away our magic. She'd never try to kill anyone…at least…not on purpose."

"How are you so sure?" asked Raven.

"I looked into her eyes when she said it," Nanoha said firmly. "She was telling the truth."

"Be that as it may, Stern is still the enemy," said Lady Satsuki. "We must not underestimate her. Continue Commander Nishizumi."

"Hai, Lady Satsuki," said Commander Nishizumi, flashing a few more slides on the projector. "As many of you are already aware, Stern has been silently gathering her forces. In the previous wars, she had the backing of hundreds of followers – human, mages, demon, angel, machine, animals, spirits, and everything in between. Her biggest supporters were the Titans, who had been driven to near extinction by the TSAB because of their violent nature, and the Equalists, who felt they were they were being oppressed by those with powers."

"For a chance at equality, they would join Stern in a heartbeat," said Ichigo.

"That is the main motive for them," said Commander Nishizumi. "And recently, Stern made contact with Adam Taurus and she now has the full support of the White Fang."

"The Faunus have always been treated as lesser citizens by humans," said Blake Belladonna. "You can't blame them for joining Stern's cause."

"Stern's superior numbers are the reason we have been forced to push forward in recruiting new members to the Order," said Commander Nishizumi. "We've done our best so far in gathering this many, but we are still outnumber 3-to-1. For the most part, we've tries to convince as many people that Stern the Destructor has returned, to put them on their guard, but there have been problems."

"Why?," asked a boy in a red and black Spider-man costume.

"Because of the Bureau's attitude," said Lady Satsuki's younger sister. "You saw how that dumbass Kiel reacted after we told him Stern was back. He hasn't budged an inch on his position at all. He absolutely refuses to believe it's happened."

"But why?" said Nanoha desperately. "Why's he being so stupid? If Carim-sama – "

"Ah, well, you've put your finger on the problem," said Zafira with a wry smile. "_Carim-sama._"

"The dumbass is scared of her, get it?" said Satsuki's sister with a snicker.

"Frightened of Carim-sama?" said Nanoha incredulously.

"Frightened of what she's up to," said Itachi Uchiha. "You see, Admiral Kiel thinks Carim-sama is plotting to over throw him. He thinks Carim-sama wants his seat on the High Council."

"But Carim-sama doesn't want – "

"Of course she doesn't," said Itachi Uchiha. "She never wanted to Admiral's job, even though a lot of people wanted her to take it when Grand Master Yen Sid retired. Admiral Kiel came into power along with Leone and Crowbel instead, but he's never quite forgotten how much popular support Carim-sama had, even though Carim-sama never applied for the job."

"Deep down, Admiral Kiel knows Carim-sama's much cleverer than he is, a much more powerful mage, and in the early days of his Bureau he was forever asking Carim-sama for help and advice," said Yuuno. "But it seems that he's become fond of power now, just like his former peers. He loves being on the High Council, and he's managed to convince himself that he's the clever one and Carim-sama's simply stirring trouble for the sake of it."

"How can he think that?" said Nanoha angrily. "How can he think Carim-sama would just make it all up – that _I'd _make it all up?"

"Because accepting that Stern is back would mean trouble like the Bureau hasn't had to cope with for nearly fourteen years," said Arf bitterly. "Admiral Kiel just can't bring himself to face it. It's so much more comfortable to convince himself Carim-sama's lying to destabilizing her."

You see the problem," said Commander Nishizumi. "While the Bureau insists there is nothing to fear from Stern, it's hard to convince people she's back, especially as they really don't want to believe it in the first place. What's more, the Bureau's leaning heavily on the Daily News not to report any of what they're calling Carim-sama's rumormongering, so most of the community are completely unaware anything's happened, and that makes them easy targets for the Hellions if they are using mental control."

"But you're telling people, aren't you?" said Nanoha, looking around the five tables of Order members. "You're letting people know she's back?"

Many of them smiled humorously.

"It's not that we haven't tried," said Captain Kuchiki softly. "It's just that more than a few of us are in a position where we could lose much if we were to expose ourselves so carelessness. Harlaown, Nakajima, Graham, and Yagami all have jobs in the Bureau and it's very important for the Order to have spies inside, because you know Stern will have them."

"We've managed to convince a couple people, though," said Zafira. "We got the Nakajima's convinced – Wendi is an Enforcer, which will play a huge advantage to us in the long run – Gil Graham's been a real asset too. He's very close to Admiral Kiel and provides the Order with information directly from the High Council itself."

"But if none of you is putting the news out that Stern's back – "

"Who said none of us was putting the news out?" said Arf. "Why do you think Carim-sama's in such trouble?"

"What do you mean?" Nanoha asked.

"Have you not been paying attention to the news at all, Nanoha Takamachi?" said Lady Satsuki. "The TSAB is trying to discredit Gracia. Just last week they reported that she'd been voted out of the Chairmanship of the Interdimensional Confederation of Mages because she's old and losing her grip, but it's not true, she was voted out by the Bureau after she made a speech announcing Stern's return. They demoted her from the Grand Magic Council – the magical High Court – and they are trying to convince the Saint Church of revoking her status."

"But Carim-sama says she doesn't care what they do as long as they don't take her off the cards," said Arf, grinning.

"It is no laughing matter," said Lady Satsuki shortly. "If she carries on defying the Bureau like this, she could end up in Gefangnis and the last thing we want is Gracia locked up. While Stern the Destructor knows Gracia's out there and wise to what she's up to, she's going to go cautiously for a while. If Gracia's out of the way, then Stern will have a clear field."

"But if Stern's trying to recruit more Hellions, it's bound to get out that she's come back, isn't it?" asked Nanoha desperately.

"Stern doesn't march up to people's houses and bang on their front doors, Nanoha," said Arf. "She is well-practiced at operating in secrecy. She'll use her most loyal followers – faces that everyone trusts – and persuade them to join her cause. Stern is clever; knows just who to send and where to send them to have a greater effect."

"Does anyone at least know where she's hiding," Nanoha asked.

"That was what this meeting was called for," said Commander Nishizumi. "Our latest intel has located Stern's base of operations."

"Really? Where?" Nanoha asked swiftly.

"In Academy City," said Lady Satsuki.

There was a loud, echoing groan from the Order members, many of them banging their heads on the table, but all of them looking frustrated and disappointed. Nanoha stood in her place, looking deeply perplexed.

"Since you clearly haven't been following the news, allow me to fill you in, Takamachi," said Lady Satsuki. "In the last two months since Stern has returned, there has been a major upset in Academy City's political field. All members of the Board of Directors were arrested after evidence emerged against them for committing numerous crimes including conspiracy and mass murder of the student population. When the TSAB tried questioning the General Superintendent, Aleister Crowley, they found that he had mysteriously disappeared. We do not believe that Stern has killed Crowley, but she has made certain that he won't interfere with her plans."

"Last month, the new General Superintendent sent a message to the TSAB," said Commander Nishizumi. "I'll bring it up on the screen now."

Commander Nishizumi pressed a few buttons on her pad and brought up a video of a woman glaring at them on the screen. Nanoha's eyes became wide as dinner plates.

"Mikoto?" Nanoha said in a hushed voice, not trusting her own words.

It was definitely Mikoto Misaka – Nanoha would recognize her from the year they worked together in the Grand Magic Games. But there was difference from the Mikoto in her memories and the Mikoto in the video. She looked older even though only two months had passed since they had last seen each other. She was dressed in a white and silver body suit and holding a helmet under her arm. When she spoke, her voice echoed through the great hall.

"**This is General Superintendent Mikoto Misaka speaking to the Time-Space Administration Bureau High Council. One year ago, Academy City was promised an event that would better relationships between worlds in the form of a competition meant to entertain the masses. But instead of friendship, Academy City was meant with deceit and betrayal.**

"**Carim Gracia, Headmistress of St. Hilde Academy of Magic, deceived her guests and cheated her way to victory in order to bolster her own reputation. The champions – myself included – were attacked by representatives of St. Hilde and subjected to mental tampering to make us believe that the Queen of Darkness – Stern the Destructor – has at fault and force us to believe that she had returned. One brave individual saved my life at the expense of her own so that I may tell the truth to the world. Stern the Destructor has not returned. Carim Gracia has lied to you, just as she had lied to me about peace and friendship.**

"**It has come to my attention that Carim Gracia seeks to undermine authority. Not only in the Bureau, but in all governments that have been duped by her pretty words and false promises. I will not let the actions of one woman endanger the lives of my people. That is why on this day, I, as General Superintendent, announce that Academy City shall be withdrawing from the Dimensional Carter and declaring itself a sovereign city-state. Further – **"

"It goes on from there," said Lady Satsuki as the video paused. "With Academy City withdrawing from the Charter, the TSAB no one has the ability to intervene in their politics nor will they be able to benefit from their resources. This deals a critical blow to the Bureau as most of the technology they use were developed and manufactured in Academy City."

"And now all that tech is in the hands of Stern the Destructor," said Shiroe. "Stern has us outmatched in terms of numbers and technology. This is not looking good for us."

"Can't the Order just go in and do something about it?" said Nanoha. "I know I don't want to hurt Mikoto, but if we were to remove her, wouldn't that mean we can put someone else in her place, someone who can help?"

"It's not that simple, Nanoha-san," said Commander Nishizumi. "In the month that Misaka has been General Superintendent, she has made a number of radical changes to the city's system. Her biggest change is the removal of the Level Ranking System. In Academy City, an Epser's living conditions was determined by their rank, but now that Misaka has removed that law, every citizen has been given equal status. Since roughly eighty percent of Academy City's population is Level Zero, Misaka's campaign for equality has been met with overwhelming praise. Her approval rating currently stands and ninety-four percent."

"But not all of them are as content with this change, are they?" said Lady Satsuki.

"Some of the higher levels argue that the lower levels don't deserve equal citizenship," said Commander Nishizumi. "In order to settle arguments taking place all over the city, Mikoto converted the Sister clones into a third-party law enforcement that work directly under her to act as mediators. Crime in Academy City has dropped by an overwhelming thirty-two percent in the last month alone."

"Now do you see the precarious position we are in?" said Lady Satsuki. "Academy City as a whole supports Mikoto Misaka and any attempts made to usurp her would be met with extreme prejudice and would be the spark that ignites a war we have no chance of winning in our present condition."

"So while Stern is in Academy City, she's untouchable," said Arf. "She fortified herself well in a short amount of time. In any case, there's nothing we can do about it now. We know where Stern is hiding, which means we know where to keep an eye out for her. Gathering followers is only one thing she's interested in, she's got other plans too, plans she can put into operation very quietly indeed, and she's concentrating on them at the moment."

"What's she after apart from followers?" Nanoha asked swiftly.

"She thought she saw Arf exchange the most fleeting of looks with Lady Satsuki before Arf said," Stuff she can only get by stealth."

When Nanoha continued to look puzzles, Arf said, "We're not sure what it is, but Carim-sama says she's after something important. Something she didn't have last time."

"When she was powerful before?"

"Yes."

"Like a weapon or something?" said Nanoha. "If she's already this power, what could she – ?"

"That's enough."

Shamal spoke from behind Nanoha, making her jump in her seat. She had not noticed her return from taking Vita upstairs. Her arms were crossed and she looked furious.

"I think that's quite enough, Lady Satsuki," she added, looking around to the woman. "Now it's time for bed."

"You can't boss us – " Agito began.

"Watch me," snarled Shamal. She was trembling slightly as she looked at Lady Satsuki. "You've given Nanoha plenty of information. Any more and you'll be breaking your word with Carim-sama."

"So what?" said Nanoha quickly. "Lady Satsuki promised me answers and I say – "

"ENOUGH!"

Lady Satsuki slammed her sword again, silencing them.

"As promised, Takamachi, I have presented you with all the information you have deserved," she said. "You will be allowed to attend the Order meets for the duration of your stay at the Garden of Time if that please you. But understand that there are some secrets we cannot tell you just yet. It is not that we don't trust you, it is for your sake as much for everyone else's. That is all for this meeting! DSIMISSED!"

Lady Satsuki slammed her sword, showing that her decision on the matter was final. Members of the Order pulled out of their seats and began filing towards the front doors. Shamal beckoned imperiously to the girls. One by one they stood up and Nanoha, recognizing defeat, followed suit.

* * *

><p><strong>Nanoha is inducted into the Order of the Saint King and finally gets up to speed on the impending war effort. But with many questions answered, many more begin to appear. Next, Nanoha fully explores the Garden of Time and learns a little more about her best friend. How long will the Time-Space Administration Bureau remain ignorant to Stern's revival? What is this secret weapon that Stern seeks to covet? And what particular interest does Carim have in Hayate? Find out on the next chapter of the Fairy Tail!<strong>

**Please, read and review.**

* * *

><p><strong>~Nanoha's Corner~<strong>

**#1: Smooth Talker**

Nanoha, Fate, Teana, and Subaru were getting changed for bed; Fate impressed her roommates by not getting a nosebleed when she saw Nanoha's bare back. Just then, Hayate stepped into the room with a spring in her step and wearing a pair of dark-lensed sunglasses.

"Where've you been, Hayate-chan?" Nanoha asked, pulling on her nightshirt.

"You know that girl I was talking to during the meeting?" said Hayate; the girls nodded. "Turns out she was Asami Sato."

"The CEO of Future Industries?" Teana said surprised.

"The same one," said Hayate, smiling. "So after the meeting, I met up with her in the hallway, getting my game on, and I was all like 'Girl, you're as fine as Rovanian Silk' and she loved me!"

"Then what happened?" Suabru asked excitedly.

"Then her girlfriend walked in," said Hayate.

Hayate pulled off her sunglasses, showing her roommates the swollen black eye Ms. Sato's girlfriend left for her.

Fate facepalmed.


	6. The Noble and Ancient House of Testrossa

**Nanoha and the Fairy Tail**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
>Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter Six: The Noble and Most Ancient House of Testarossa<span>**

Shamal followed them upstairs looking grim.

"I want you all to go straight to bed, no talking," she said as they reached the fifth floor landing. "We've got a busy day tomorrow. I expect Vita's asleep," she added to Agito and Rein, "so try not to wake her up."

"Asleep, yeah, right," said Agito in an undertone. "If Vita's not lying awake waiting for us to tell her everything they said in the meeting, then Hayate is straight…."

"Don't you dare say that!" Hayate hissed.

"All right, Nanoha, Fate, Hayate, Subaru, Teana," said Shamal on the sixth landing, pointing them down the hall to Fate's bedroom. "Off to bed with you."

"'Night," Subaru said to the twins.

"Sleep tight," said Agito, winking.

"Don't let Talon bite," said Rein. "Because she will."

Teana closed the door behind them as they were ushered into the room with a sharp snap. The bedroom looked unnaturally creepy with all the lights out, illuminated only by the light of the dimensional rift in the windows. There was just something about the blank spaces on the wall that made her feel uneasy. The girls quickly changed into the pajamas, though Nanoha felt a little self-conscious to be changing in front of Fate. It shouldn't be anything new – they had all seen each other in several states of undress in the four years they had been roommates – but that was before Fate confessed her feelings. Fate, for her part, didn't even bat an eye as she pulled on her black nightgown and jumped into bed, making herself comfortable in the center. Neither Nanoha nor Fate noticed the strange looks their friends were sharing at their expense.

The girls finished changing and started climbing into bed as well while Hayate threw bits of food from dinner up on top of the wardrobe to pacify Lucy and Squiddy, who were clattering around and rustling their wings restlessly.

"We can't let them out to hunt every night," Hayate explained. "Lady Satsuki doesn't want to risk anyone recognizing our Fay and tracing them back here. Oh yeah…I forgot…."

She crossed to the door and bolted it.

"What're you doing that for?" asked Nanoha.

"Talon," said Hayate. "First night we were here she came wandering in at three in the morning. Trust me, you don't want to wake up and find her prowling around your room."

"She wouldn't have to prowl if you just picked up your mess," said Fate.

"Anyway…," Hayate said absently, getting into bed, settling down under the covers, then turned to look at Nanoha in the darkness. "_What do you think?_"

Nanoha didn't need to ask what Hayate meant.

"Well, Lady Satsuki did keep her promise, I guess," she said, thinking of all that had been said downstairs. "Even if she wasn't telling us everything, at least we have a good idea what's going on. We know Stern's hiding now, the only problem is figuring out how to get to her."

"It's not going to be easy," said Teana. "Academy City has the most advanced technology in the galaxy, including the best security system. One wrong move and we could be starting a war."

"Not like we aren't already in one," said Hayate. "What I want to know about is what the – OUCH!"

"Keep your voice down, Hayate, or Shamal will be back up here."

"You two just landed on my knees!"

"Yeah, well, it's harder in the dark – "

"More than the Corridors of _Darkness_? You don't say."

Nanoha saw the blurred outlines of Agito and Rein clambering over the edge of the bed.

So, got there yet?" said Rein eagerly.

"The weapon Arf mentioned?" said Nanoha.

"Let slip, more like," said Agito with relish, now sitting next to Hayate. "We didn't hear about _that _on the old Flies, did we?"

"What do you think it is?" said Subaru.

"Could be anything," said Agito.

"What kind of weapon could you get for the most powerful mage in the galaxy?" said Fate, who was staring up at the canopy. "For that matter, what could they want that Academy City can't get them? Like Tea said, they have the most advanced technology available."

"Maybe it's one of the Lost Magics," suggested Rein. "I heard those magics we so powerful that they were lost from time."

"Maybe it has something to with killing loads of people at the same time," said Agito.

"Stern doesn't kill people by choice," said Nanoha irritably. "How many times do I have to say it? We don't even know if it _is _a weapon at all."

There was a pause and Nanoha knew that the others didn't believe her and were wondering what horrors this weapon could perpetrate. It made Nanoha so frustrated that they wouldn't listen to her, instead choosing to believe the propaganda the TSAB had thrown out for years. Hadn't they learned not to believe the Bureau's lies by now? For a moment – just a small one – Nanoha felt sympathetic to Stern.

"So who do you think's got it now?" asked Rein.

"I hope it's our side," said Hayate, sounding slightly nervous.

"If it is, Carim-sama's probably keeping it," said Agito.

"Where?" said Subaru quickly. "St. Hilde?"

"Bet it is!" said Rein. "That's where they hid the Blood of Penacea!"

"And looked how well that turned out," said Fate. "A shape-shifting Homunculus snuck in on the first day and played the staff like a violin. If I were Carim-sama, I wouldn't keep it there."

"Besides, how're they gonna hide it?" said Hayate. "A weapon is going to be a lot bigger that a stone."

"Not necessarily," said Agito.

"Yeah, size is no guarantee of power," said Rein. "Look at Vita."

"What do you mean?" said Nanoha.

"Let's just say, you don't want to be on the receiving end of Graf Eisen."

"Shhh!" said Agito, half-raising from the bed. "Listen!"

They fell silent. Footsteps were coming up the stairs again.

"Shamal," said Rein, and without further ado there leapt off the bed and evaporated into faint wisps. A few seconds later and they heard the door creak from the outside; Shamal was plainly listening to see whether they were talking or not.

Lucy and Squiddy chirped dolefully. They heard Shamal's footsteps move farther away as she headed upstairs to check on Vita, Agito, and Rein.

"She doesn't trust us at all, you know," said Hayate regretfully.

Nanoha was sure she would not be able to fall asleep; the evening had been so packed with things to think about that she fully expected to lie awake for hours mulling it all over. She wanted to continue talking to Fate or Hayate, but Shamal was now walking back downstairs again, and once she had gone she distinctly heard others making their way upstairs….In fact, many-legged creatures were cantering softly up and down outside the bedroom, and Schach, the Magical Zoology teacher, was saying, "_Beauties, aren't they, Nanoha? We'll be studying weapons this term…._" And Nanoha saw that the creatures had cannons for heads and were wheeling to face her….She ducked….

The next thing she knew, she was curled in a warm ball under her bedclothes, and Rein's loud voice was filling the room.

"Lady Satsuki wants everyone downstairs for breakfast. When we're done eating, she wants all the Order members in the drawing room for the morning meeting. And since we're Order members now, Shamal doesn't have an excuse to keep us out. C'mon."

Twenty minutes later, Nanoha and the others, who had dressed and breakfasted quickly, entered the Testarossa drawing room on the third floor, a long, high-ceilinged room on the first floor with royal purple walls covered in fine tapestries. Between each tapestry was a cabinet or drawer filled with trophies and pictures displaying the long and rich history of the Testarossa family.

Lady Satsuki was seated on the only velvet couch in the room, being served tea by her butler, as the Order members filed in. There was only a handful compared to last night. Obviously Lady Satsuki's younger sister and Elite Four stayed overnight. Commander Nishizumi stood at the forefront. Shiroe also attended with his little ninja. Ichigo was leaning against the door, looking bored as always. And a couple people Nanoha couldn't recognize.

"It's pleasant to know that _some of you _know how to get yourself up at a decent hour," said Lady Satsuki, shooting a pointed look at her delinquent little sister, who covered a yawn with her hand. "I'd like to begin this morning meeting by going into discussion about last night's meeting, particularly…."

Nanoha drowned out Lady Satsuki's voice; the combination of tiredness and her own lack of interest made it difficult for Nanoha to stay standing and pretend she was listening. Every so often, Fate would elbow her in the ribs whenever she started to nod off. The morning meeting took at least an hour, and in that time, Nanoha had only heard a few things: Ledo and some crew called Gargantia discovered a sunken facility on the verdurous planet, Captain Kato of the Bentenmaru commandeered a dimension-jumping facility for the Order to use, and Order gained two new members, Madoka Kaname and Emiya Shiro….

"….And finally, Lie Ren's uncle, Oum, passed away recently," said Lady Satsuki. "He was one of the Order's greatest agents and a great man I had the pleasure of knowing. His loss will deeply impact us all. Please take the day to mourn for loss an inspirational man."

"That's too bad, I really like him, he was a funny guy even with his insomnia problem," said Arf, who had entered the room carrying a bloodstained bag of what appeared to be dead rats. "I've just been feeding Toothless," she added, in reply to Nanoha's inquiring look. "Presea keeps him on the top floor, away from all the valuables."

"On that…fascinating note," said Lady Satsuki as she stood up. "I have important matters to attend to at Honnoji Academy that need my attention. If there are no further questions, this meeting is dismissed."

Lady Satsuki strode out the room with her Elite Four at her heels; Satsuki's sisters dragged her feet, muttering soft curses under her breath. The Order members dispersed shortly afterwards, some of them heading downstairs towards the front door and others heading off to another part of the manor. Ichigo shot Nanoha a meaningful look to Nanoha before he walked out. Nanoha knew what he wanted to say, but couldn't in front of Shamal. He wanted to practice with their Visored powers later.

"So, Shamal…about this writing desk…," said Arf.

She dropped the bag of rats onto an armchair, then bent over to examine the locked cabinet, which, Nanoha now noticed for the first time, was shaking slightly.

"Well, Shamal, I'm pretty sure the dwarves are back again and got themselves locked in," said Arf, peering through the keyhole, "but maybe it would be best to ask a Hyuuga to have a look at it before we let it out – knowing Presea it could be something much worse."

"Right you are, Arf," said Shamal.

They were both speaking in carefully light, polite voices that told Nanoha quite plainly that neither had forgotten their disagreement of the night before.

A loud, echoing bang sounded from downstairs; someone was knocking at the front door.

"That's probably Graham's party coming in from their posts," said Arf exhaustedly, hurrying back out of the room. They heard her thundering down as a clutter of voices echoed up from the foyer. Nanoha tried to listen to what was going on through the open door and could barely make out Gil Graham's voice in all the confusion: "Nick Fury's just relieved me, so he's got Jellal's scope now, thought I'd leave a report for Lady Satsuki…."

"I think that's enough of that," said Shamal, forcefully closing the door. "You're all very tired, I'm sure. You must be positively exhausted after last night, Nanoha. It's almost lunch time. Why don't I head down to the kitchen and make sandwiches for everyone?"

"That's nice of you to offer, Shamal," Fate said politely, taking a seat on the couch. "But I could call one of the servants to fetch us lunch."

"You mean abuse your authority over those poor, misguided _slaves_?" said Subaru reproachfully.

"And she's off again, ladies and gentleman," Hayate said exasperatedly.

"No, no, it's no trouble at all," Shamal said earnestly. "I'd feel much better if I made it myself. Don't particularly trust the Twi'lek's in the kitchen after Talon inspected it last." She bent over the loveseat to snatch up the bag of rats. "Just wait here. That goes double for you," she added to Agito and Rein.

She left the room, closing the door carefully behind her. At once, everyone except Fate dashed over to the door and pressed their ears against it, trying to listen in on the muffled conversation behind it. Fate shook her head as she sipped some of Lady Satsuki's tea, still warm in its pot.

"There's no point trying," said Fate pointedly. "My mother deeply respects her privacy. She'd have put spells on all the doors to keep anyone from spying on her."

"Little paranoid, isn't she?" said Teana.

"After…I was born, she's had a reason to be cautious," Fate said carefully.

Nanoha was the only one in the room aware of what she was referring to. Presea Testarossa was one of the greatest scientists in TSAB history until her final experiment – Project Fate – had cost her career and lost respect in the scientific community. It was that same experiment that had given birth to Fate, using Alicia's DNA to give her life. It was also Project Fate that had allowed Stern the Destructor to be revived in a new body, Nanoha's body to be exact.

"Fun little fact you decided to share with us, Fate-chan," Agito said in a suspiciously sweet voice, leaning over the couch next to Fate.

"Right cordial of you," said Rein, leaning over Fate's other side. "Bet you know all the little secrets that go on around here, don'tcha."

"I've only lived here my whole life, so I figure I know a thing or two," said Fate, taking another sip of tea.

"Bet you know how to sneak into ol' Presea's laboratory, don'tcha?" said Agito. "Rein and I have tried everything to break in: picking the lock, kicking down the door, using the Corridors, slipping through the vents, phasing through the wall, and blowing it up with ten pounds of dynamite. The thing's impregnable."

"We tried digging underground, but that was before we remember we were on the eighth floor," said Rein.

"Getting into my mother's personal laboratory is simple when you are her daughter," Fate said casually. "But that doesn't mean I am going to help you break in. Mother would be absolutely livid with me. But why do you want to break into her laboratory in the first place?"

"Oh, nothing much," Agito said in a not-so-innocent tone. "Just wanted to borrow – emphasis on _borrow_ – a few little thing we might need for our Sick Patches."

"I'm almost afraid to ask," said Teana, "but what are Sick Patches?"

"Just like they sound," said Rein. "A range of adhesive patches that make you sick. Not seriously sick, of course, just sick enough to get you out of class when you feel like it. Agito and I have been developing them over the holiday. Each patch is made with special nano-machines that emit an electric impulse that travels through the nervous system directly to the brain, making you think you are sick. Slap on a Puking Patch, you throw up. Moment you've been rushed out of the lesson for the hospital win, you rip off the patch – "

"' – which restores you to full fitness, enabling you to pursue the leisure activity of your choice during an hour that would otherwise have been devoted to unprofitable boredom'. That's what we're putting in the adverts, anyway," said Agito. "But they still need a bit of work. At the moment our testers are having a bit of trouble stopping puking after the patches are off."

"Testers?" asked Subaru.

"Us," said Agito. "We take it in turns. Rein tried the Fainting Patch – we both tried the Nosebleed Patch – "

"We thought you got in a fight!" said Hayate.

Those patches are a horrible idea," Teana said indignantly. "You shouldn't go skipping lessons just because you're bored. You go to St. Hilde to learn, not to goof off."

"Figured you say that, Miss Two-Shoes," Rein grumbled.

"So I take it Yagami Mechanics is still on, then?" Nanoha asked.

"Well, we haven't had a chance to get premises yet," said Agito, "so we're running it as a mail-order service at the moment. We put advertisements in the Daily News last week."

"All thanks to you, Nanoha," Rein whispered so that only she could hear. "But don't worry…Shamal hasn't got a clue. She won't read the Daily News anymore, 'cause of it telling lies about you and Carim-sama."

Nanoha grinned. She had forced the Yagami twins to take the million-credit prize money she had won in the Grand Magic Games to help them realize their ambition to open a mechanic shop, but she was still glad to know that her part in furthering their plans was unknown to Shamal, who did not think that Agito or Rein were responsible enough to run a business.

The loud clanging doorknocker echoed again. Almost immediately, everyone but Fate dashed over to the window to look down onto the doorstep. They could see the top of a mop of spiky black hair and a stack of precariously balanced crates filled with purple crystals.

"Argit!" said Teana. "And those crystals look like Isotope-8. What's he doing bringing them all here?

"Probably looking for a safe place to keep them," said Nanoha. "Isn't that what he was doing the night he was supposed to be tailing me? Picking up stolen isotopes?"

"Yeah, you're right!" said Agito, as the front door opened; Argit heaved the crates of Isotope-8 through it and disappeared from view. "Saint King, Shamal won't like that…."

She and Rein crossed to the door and stood beside it, listening intently despite Fate telling them once more that it was pointless.

"I think Argit is talking to Arf and Graham," Agito muttered, frowning with concentration. "Can't hear properly…do you think we can risk the Phantom Fly?"

"Might be worth it," said Rein. "I could sneak upstairs and grab one – "

But at that precise moment there was an explosion of sound from downstairs that rendered Phantom Flies quite unnecessary. All of them could hear exactly what Shamal was shouting at the top of her voice, even through the protective magic on the door.

"WE ARE NOT RUNNING A HIDEOUT FOR STOLEN GOODS!"

"I love hearing Shamal shout at someone else," said Agito, with a satisfied smile on her face as she opened the door an inch or so to allow Shamal's voice to permeate the room better. "It makes such a nice change."

" – COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE, AS IF WE HAVEN'T GOT ENOUGH TO WORRY ABOUT WITHOUT YOU DRAGGING STOLEN ISOTOPES INTO THE HOUSE – "

"The idiots are letting her get into her stride," said Rein, shaking her head. "You got to head her off early, otherwise she builds up a head of steam and goes on for hours. And she's been dying to have a go at Argit ever since he sneaked off when he was supposed to be following you, Nanoha – and sounds like Arf's having a go now – "

Shamal's voice was drowned out by Arf's shrieks and screams, laying it on Argit harsher than before. Rein made to shut the door to drown the noise, but before she could do so, a Twi'lek edged into the room.

Except for the very thin black spandex that barely covered her breasts and modesty, she was completely naked. Her skin was deep shade of red that contrasted with other Twi'lek's Nanoha had seen like Vette or Oola, and covered from head-tail-to-toe in unique black tattoos from a culture Nanoha was unaware of. Her eyes were a strike gold that bared an eerie resemblance to the eyes of the Heartless and her dagger-like teeth were barely visible through her curled lips.

The Twi'lek took absolutely no notice of Nanoha and the rest. Acting as though she could not see them, she shuffled toward the far end of the room, muttering her breath all the while in a hoarse, shrill voice that reminded Nanoha of a banshee's, "…Smells like a drain and a criminal to boot, but she's no better, nasty blood traitor with her filthy brood messing up my Mistress's house, oh my poor Mistress, I cannot fathom why she would allow this filth into her home, oh the shame of it, Half-breeds and Arrancar and traitors and theieves, what am I to do…."

"You could start by not muttering so loud, Talon," Fate said coolly, taking another polite sip of her tea. "It's very rude to speak that way in front of our guests."

The Twi'lek froze in her tracks, stopped muttering, and then gave a very pronounced and very unconvincing start of surprise.

"I did not see you there, Lady Fate," she said, turning around and bowing to Fate. Still facing the carpet, she added, perfect audibly, "How could I see you hidden amongst the trash you surround yourself with."

"Sorry?" said Fate. "Didn't catch that last bit."

"I said nothing, Lady Fate," said the Twi'lek, bowing to her again, adding a clear undertone. "A woman of your stature should not associate herself with these peasants. You are of royal blood – they are the dirt that you walk upon."

Nanoha didn't know who she was, but she was already starting not to like her. The Twi'lek straightened up, eying them all very malevolently, and apparently did not care that they could hear her as she continued to mutter.

"…and there's the Half-Breed, sanding there bold as brass, oh the Mistress must being in pain knowing such filth is allowed in her home, and there's a new girl, I don't know her name, what is she doing here, I don't know…"

"This is Nanoha, Talon," said Teana tentatively. "Nanoha Takamachi."

Talon's golden eyes widened and she muttered faster and more furiously than ever.

"The Half-Breed is talking to me as though she is my friend, if my Mistress saw me in such company, oh what would she say – "

"Don't call her a Half-Breed!" said Nanoha and Hayate together, very angrily.

"I'm sure she doesn't really mean it," Subaru said weakly. "She's probably not in the right state of mind, being enslaved and all – "

"Don't kid yourself, Su-chan, she knows _exactly_ what she's saying," said Agito, eyeing Talon with great dislike.

Talon was still muttering, her eyes on Nanoha.

"Is it true? Is it Nanoha Takamachi? I can faintly see the scar, it must be true, that's the girl who stopped the Queen of Darkness, I wonder how she did it – "

"Don't we all, Talon," said Agito.

"What do you want anyway?" Rein asked.

Talon's narrow eyes darted onto Rein.

"I was in the middle of cleaning," she said evasively.

"More like spying," Fate said abruptly, shooting a pointed stare at Talon, who immediately dropped to her knees and bowed ridiculously low that her nose was pressed into the carpet. "Stand up straight, Talon. I know what you have been up to. The whole family knows."

"I have no idea what you could possibly mean, Lady Fate," said Talon. "I was just fulfilling my routine cleaning schedule – "

"I memorized your schedule, Talon," said Fate impatiently. "You should be on the bathrooms on the second floor at this time, not snooping around in the drawing room. You think me a fool, Talon. You think I am stupid enough not to know that you have been eavesdropping on our guests since the Garden of Time opened its doors to the Order?"

"Never, my Lady, I would never think that, I swear," said Talon, still bowing into the floor and continuing in an undertone. "Why does the young Lady protect these bits of scum? They are not worthy to lick the young Lady's boots. Such a tragedy has not been seen in the House of Testarossa since the Mistress married that Harlaown whore – "

"You will not speak of Lindy in such a manner ever again in my presence!" Fate snapped coldly. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Quite clear, young Lady," Talon grumbled.

"Awesome, Fate's in her badass mode," said Hayate, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Now I am asking you one final time, Talon," said Fate, "what are you up to? Every time you show up pretending to be cleaning, we always catch you listening in on private conversations about the Order. You're not thinking of giving away the Order's secrets, are you? Because you know what mother would do if she found out."

"Perish the thought, Lady Fate," said the Twi'lek in very unconvincing tone. "All right, you caught me, Lady Fate. Truth is that when I heard the Order was meeting in the drawing room, I was concerned for your family's tapestry. The entire history of the Testarossa House dating back to the Unification Wars. I felt it should be kept safe, I should protect it from the blood traitors and the brats that would destroy it – "

"A likely story," said Fate, casting a look at the opposite wall. "I sure you wanted to remember fond memories of my grandfather who robbed you of your Sith power and enslaved you to serve our House until your dying breath. If you are not going to give me a proper answer, then go away, Talon."

It seemed that Talon did not dare disobey a direct order; nevertheless, the look she gave Fate as she shuffled out past her redolent of deepest loathing and she muttered all the way out of the room.

" – little brat thinks she can order me around because she is the Mistress's child, she's not even her real child at all, nothing at all like Lady Alicia, even turned her own back on her family legacy and joined the Kaiser rabble – "

"I can't stand her," said Fate irritably, standing up and crossing the room to slam the door shut. "She never liked me, ever since I was born; always muttering under her breath about how I was a mistake. It only got worse when I was Sorted into Kaiser, like it was something I had planned to spite my family. She was always nice to Alicia though."

"She's just not in her right mind," said Subaru pleadingly. "I don't think she realizes we can hear her."

"Oh, she knows we can hear her, she just doesn't care," said Fate. "She tries to act civil with me in front of company so that no one will say anything to mother, but when we're alone, she won't hesitate to say what's on her mind."

"If you just set her free," said Subaru hopefully, "maybe – "

"We can't set her free, she knows all of the Testarossa's secrets and anything she heard from the Order," said Fate curtly. "Before my grandfather defeated and enslaved her, she used to be a powerful Sith Lady. I don't doubt that the moment she's set free, she'll go running straight to Stern."

Fate walked across the room, where the tapestry Talon had claimed to try and protect hung the length of the wall. Nanoha and the other's followed.

The tapestry looked immensely old; it was faded and several threads were starting to come loose from the edges; nevertheless, the golden thread with which it was embroidered still glinted brightly enough to show them a sprawling family trees dating back to the Saint King Unification Wars. Large words at the very time of the tapestry read:

**The Noble and Most Ancient House of Testarossa  
>"Schnell wie der Blitz"<strong>

"Lindy-san and Chrono-kun aren't on here!" said Nanoha, after scanning close to the bottom of the tree.

"Grandfather wasn't as accepting of Lindy as he was of Father," said Fate. "Lindy is a half-blood – Machlos mother, mage father – and my grandfather, clinging to his old pure-blood mania, absolutely refused to accept Lindy and Chrono-nii-san as a part of our family. But Mother didn't care for his opinion. Shortly after I was born, they eloped in Ruwella, Lindy's home planet."

"If I didn't know Presea personally, I'd say she's a romantic," said Hayate.

"Did your grandfather disown her?" asked Teana.

"He wanted to – so desperately, in fact," said Fate. "But mother was my grandfather's only child and the only heir of the House of Testarossa. So rather than disowning her, my grandfather cut Mother off from the family's funds and barred us from ever setting foot in the Garden of Time until the day he died. Mother, Alicia, and I lived with Lindy and Chrono-nii-san on Ruwella for a few years. It wasn't easy since Mother was disgraced in front of the entire Bureau and her career was destroyed. Thankfully she got a job at St. Hilde not long after."

"If you guys were kicked out, how can we…?" Subaru asked.

"My grandfather died eight years ago, a month before Alicia went to Vaizen," smiled bitterly and ran a hand through her long hair. "I won't say I miss him, because the truth is that I hated him for hurting Mother and Lindy because he was so racist. I remember Talon practically jumping for joy when she came to Mother and told her that Grandfather was dead – I think that was the last time I ever saw her so happy. Naturally, the first thing Mother did when we moved back was blast Grandfather's name off."

Fate jabbed a finger above Presea's name, at a small, round, charred hole in the tapestry, rather like a cigarette burn.

"It's been years since I saw him, I don't even remember what he looked like or what his name was," said Fate.

"And now he's dead," said Nanoha.

"He was an idiot," said Fate. "He tried to join the Hellions."

"You're kidding!"

"Come on, Nanoha, you of all people know what Stern is like. She can talk her way around anyone and could convince even a saint to join her cause," said Fate testily.

"But Stern hates old magical families. She really let your grandpa join the Hellions?"

"No, but that wasn't from a lack of trying. Before you told Carim-sama everything you saw back in January, everyone was convinced that Stern was trying to purify the magical race, getting rid of half-bloods and having pure-blood take charge. Grandfather was all for it, and he wasn't alone either, there were quite a few, before Stern came to exist, who thought that cleansing bloodlines was the right way to go about things….But after Stern disappeared and the Hellions scattered, Grandfather fell into a depression. He had already lost his wife and only child; Stern's crusade was the only thing keeping him going, even if it was a lie. He started drinking every day until the alcohol finally got him."

"Lunch," said Shamal's voice.

She was holding her rings high in front of her, balancing a huge tray loaded with sandwiches and cake floating in the air. She was very red in the face and still looked angry. The others moved over to her, eager for some food, but Nanoha remained with Fate, who had bent closer to the tapestry.

"I haven't looked at this for years. There's Lord Sauron…my great-great-grandfather, see? Least popular headmaster St. Hilde ever had…and Nathanial Essex…cousin of Mother's…tried to force through a Bureau Bill to hunt down and dissect Machlos for genetic experiments…and Uncle Palpatine…he started the family tradition of beheading the servants when they got too old to carry tea trays…of course, anytime the family produced someone halfway decent they were disowned. I noticed Subaru and her sisters aren't on here. Maybe that's why Talon won't take orders from her – she's supposed to do whatever anyone in the family asks her…."

"You and Subaru are related?" Nanoha asked, surprised.

"Oh yeah, Quint was my Mother's favorite cousin," said Fate, examining the tapestry carefully. "No, Quint's not on here either, look – "

She pointed to another small round burn mark between two names, Levi and Dearche.

"Quint's sisters are still here because they remain respectable to their pure-blood ways, but Quint married a Machlos, Genya Nakajima, so – "

Fate mimed blasting the tapestry with her finger. Nanoha, on the other hand, was busy staring at the names to the right of Quint's burn mark. A double line of gold embroidery lined Dearche Testarossa with Genryuu Eberwein, and a single vertical gold line from their names led to the name Yuri.

"You're related to the Eberweins!"

"The pure-blood families are all interrelated," said Fate. "If you're only going to let your sons and daughters marry pure-bloods your choices are very limited, there are hardly any of us left. If we ever found out their backgrounds, I'm sure I'd be related to at least one or two of the Yagamis. Then again, the Testarossa family tree is so long and confusing, their names might be on here and we wouldn't know it."

But Nanoha was now looking at a name on the opposite side of the side of the tapestry: Yakone, which connected two golden lines down to the names Tarrlok and Noatak.

"Noatak…" Nanoha said aloud. The name had stirred something in her memory; she knew it from somewhere, but for a moment she couldn't think where, though it gave her an odd, creeping sensation in the pit of her stomach.

"He's in Gafangnis," said Fate shortly.

Nanoha looked at her curiously.

"Arf told me about him," said Fate in the same brusque voice. "He was brought in the same time as Grant Wilson – Slade Wilson's son. Some other people were there too: Cinder Fall and Sephiroth, I think their names were."

And Nanoha remembered: She had seen Noatak under the of Amon inside Carim's Chain of Memories, the strange device in which thoughts and memories could be stored: a tall dark man with heavy-lidded eyes, who stood at his trial and proclaimed his continued allegiance to Stern the Destructor, his pride that he had tried to find her after her downfall ad his unwavering conviction that she would fulfill her ambition of a new world.

"You never said he was your – "

"Does it matter if we are related?" said Fate. "In case you haven't noticed, my family doesn't exactly have the cleanest history. Generations of conquerors, murderers, thieves, and everything in between. Other than Mother and Alicia, I have never once met any of my relatives. Mother seemed to think it was better I not associate with them."

"And with good reason," said Nanoha. "I mean – not to say that – well, I'm just surprised, that's all – "

"It doesn't matter, don't apologize," Fate mumbled at once. She turned away from the tapestry, her hands deep in her pockets. "I hate looking at that tree. It makes me think of what I might have become if I hadn't been Sorted into Kaiser…if I hadn't met you."

Nanoha understood completely. If Schach had never knocked on that door at that cabin in the sea, Nanoha might have grown up never knowing what she was capable of or who her real family was. She could have spent her entire life as Kenta's punching bag and starved to death in the Henken's basement."

"It's kind of funny to imagine what my ancestors would think if they knew their home was being used for an anti-dark headquarters," Fate said. "It's the ideal location, of course. Lord Sauron put every security measure known to magical-kind on it when he tried conquering the Third World. It's untraceable because it's constantly moving between dimension, meaning you would have to know where it's going ahead of time, and now Carim-sama's added her protection, you'd be hard put to find a safer house anywhere. Carim-sama's Gatekeeper for the Order, you know – nobody could find the Garden of Time even if they knew where it was headed unless she personally tells them – that note Jellal-Sensei showed you last night, that was from Carim-sama…"

She took a deep breath, then sighed.

"But you probably don't want to listen to me ranting about my family, not when you have your own problems. I heard Arf asking Carim-sama whether she can escort you to your hearing – as Scarlet, obviously – so she can give you a bit of moral support."

Nanoha felt as though her stomach had sunk through the carpet. She had not thought about the hearing once since dinner the previous evening; in the excitement of being back with the people she liked best, of hearing everything that was going on, it had completely flown her mind. At Fate's words, however, the crushing sense of dread returned to her. She stared at Teana, Subaru, and the Yagamis, all eating their sandwiches, and thought how she would feel if they went back to St. Hilde without her.

"Don't worry," Fate said. Nanoha looked up and realized that Fate had been watching her. "I'm sure they're going to clear you, there's definitely something in the Interdimensional Statute of Secrecy about being allowed to use magic to save your own life."

"But if they do expel me," said Nanoha, quietly, "I wonder if I could stay here with Arf…and…well, you know…until we can…"

Fate smiled sadly.

"I'll talk to Mother. I'm sure she'd love having the power to make you clean the floors with your tongue or hand-wash her delicates."

"There's an image I didn't need," said Nanoha, shuddering. "But I'd feel a lot better about the hearing if I knew I didn't have to go back to the Henkens."

"They must be bad if prefer working for my mother," said Fate.

"Hurry up, you two, or there won't be any food left," Shamal called.

Fate heaved another great sigh, cast a dark look at the tapestry, and she and Nanoha joined the others.

Nanoha tried her best not to think about the hearing that afternoon. Fortunately for her, there were a lot of items in the drawing room that stole Nanoha's attention, each one with a personal story about one of Fate's relatives. The more she looked around, the more she began to realize how little she knew about her best friend…and her ex-girlfriend. Thinking back with reddening cheeks, Nanoha realized that she and Alicia never really did much talking when they were dating.

Nanoha wasn't the only one who showed fascination for the Testarossa bloodline. Teana took a particular interest to a golden glove in one of the cabinets embodied with six large gems that was apparently a very big deals as there were hundreds of protective spells around it.

"The Infinity Gauntlet was my Great-Uncle Thanos' weapon of choice," Fate said, examining the gauntlet. "He conquered over a hundred worlds with it until he finally got reckless in a fight with Darkseid and took each other out. It hasn't been out of that cabinet since."

Though rather reluctant, Fate went into detail of the other interest artifacts in the room at Teana's insistence. They found an unpleasant silver instrument, something like a many-legged pair of tweezers, which scuttled up Subaru's arm like a spider when she was dumb enough to pick it up, and attempted to puncture her skin; it apparently struck a wire as the instrument was quickly electrocuted and dropped on the floor, its legs barely twitching. There was a musical box that emitted a faintly sinister, tinkling tune when wound, and they all found themselves becoming curiously weak and sleepy until Fate finally snapped it shut; also a heavy book marked "Sayla – Clear Moon Sky" that strangely couldn't be opened, a number of ancient seals and, in a dusty box, an golden shield that had been awarded to Fate's grandfather for "Services to the Bureau".

"It means he gave them loads of credits," said Fate contemptuously, throwing the shield back into the cabinet.

Several time, Talon sidled into the room and attempted to smuggle things away under her thin clothing, muttering horrible curses every time they caught her. When Fate wrested a large golden ring bearing the Testarossa crest from her grip Talon actually bit Fate's hand before she scampered away, all the while calling Fate names Nanoha had never heard before.

"It used to belong to Father – Alicia's father, that is," Fate whispered softly, delicately putting the ring back. "I never had the chance to meet him myself since I didn't exist until after he was gone, but Mother talks about him fondly whenever she brings it up. I like to think she was happy with him, even if it was an arranged marriage."

* * *

><p>Nanoha kept herself working very hard over the next few days. Every morning around eight A.M., she would be the first to wake and rush through breakfast to attend Lady Satsuki's morning meetings in the drawing room. Every morning, Nanoha hoped she would hear more news on what Stern was doing and what she was planning, but Lady Satsuki was careful not to give away too much information in Nanoha's presence. The majority of the topics were the movements of the Order members and slowly building up their forces to be ready for when Stern finally came out into the open.<p>

When she wasn't attending meetings, Nanoha was roped into other activities by some of the manor's regular visitors. Ichigo in particular liked to wait after Lady Satsuki's reports to catch Nanoha so that he could get in a little training time with their Visored powers. Not that Nanoha wasn't grateful to him for helping her control her Hollow half, but it didn't help that she was constantly reminded how it was her Mask that got her in trouble in the first place.

Every so often, Talon kept appearing wherever large group congregated in the manor, her muttering becoming more and more offensive as she peeked around corners and occasionally tried to steal something of theirs. Fate was noticeable different around Talon. There was no hiding the animosity between the two, but their mutual hostility seemed to reach its peak when Talon muttered loudly, "Little Lady think she is my master, but I will never accept her, she will never replace sweet Lady Alicia. She is a pretender, running around with Lady Alicia's face, associating with half-breeds and traitors, even that white whore that got Lady Alicia killed…."

At which Fate, ignoring Subaru's protests, seized Talon by the back of her skimpy clothing and threw her bodily down the stairs.

The door banged several times a day, which cued for Nanoha and the others to attempt to eavesdrop on the visitors, though they gleaned very little from the brief glimpses and snatches of conversation they were able to sneak before Shamal caught them. Presea flitted in and out of the house several times more, though to Nanoha's relief they never came face-to-face; she also caught sight of Tier Harribel, Nanoha's third year Tactical Combat Instructor, though she also seemed too busy to linger. Oddly enough, it was Subaru who pointed out that Harribel was rarely outside the company of Nove or Ginga whenever she visited.

Despite the fact that she was still sleeping badly, still having dreams about corridors and locked doors that made her scar prickle, Nanoha was managing to have fun for the first time in months. As long as she was busy she was happy; when the action abated, however, whenever she dropped her guard, or lay exhausted in bed watching blurred shadows across the canopy, the thought of the looming Bureau hearing returned to her. Fear jabbed at her insides like needles as she wondered what was going to happen to her if she was expelled. The idea was so horrible that she did not dare voice it aloud, not even to her friends, who, though she often saw them whispering together and casting anxious looks in her direction, followed her lead in not mentioning it. Sometimes she could not prevent her imagination showing her a faceless Bureau official who was smashing Raising Heart and ordering her back to the Henkens'…but she would not go. She was determined on that. If necessary, she would stay at the Garden of Time and work with Arf.

She felt as though a brick had dropped into her stomach when Shamal turned to her during dinner on Wednesday evening and said quietly, "I've ironed your best clothes for tomorrow morning, Nanoha, and I want you to wash your hair tonight too. A good first impression can work wonders."

Fate, Hayate, Teana, Subaru, Vita, and the twins all stopped talking and looked over at her. Nanoha nodded and tried to keep eating her steak, but her mouth had become so dry she could not chew.

"How am I getting there?" she asked Shamal, trying to sound unconcerned.

"Zafira's taking you to work with him," said Shamal gently.

Zafira smiled encouragingly at Nanoha across the table.

"I'll be coming, too," said Arf, looking immensely relieved. "I asked Carim-sama last night and she said it was okay as long as I went as Scarlet. No one in the Bureau knows I'm a shape-shifter yet. It'll be nice to finally stretch my legs."

"Bet you'll find an excuse to get in Zafira's lap," said Agito.

Arf sputtered wildly as Shamal scolded Agito, Zafira stared intently at his plate, and everyone else laughed. But Nanoha wasn't laughing; she was too busy staring at Arf.

"Carim-sama was here last night?" she asked.

"Very late, when you were in bed," said Arf. "Why?"

Nanoha dropped her eyes on her plate, no longer feeling hungry. The thought that Carim had been in the house on the eve of her hearing and not asked to see her made her feel, if that were possible, even worse.

* * *

><p><strong>These halcyon days in the Garden of Time are coming to an end as Nanoha's hearing is just over the horizon. As Nanoha prepares for the greatest fight of her life, seeds of doubt begin to take root in her mind as she starts to question her faith in her hero. Next chapter, Nanoha visits the headquarters of the Time-Space Adminsitration Bureau and comes face-to-face with the person she once considered her friend. Will Nanoha be expelled from St. Hilde Academy, or will she be miraculous saved once more? Find out on the next chapter of Fairy Tail!<strong>

**Please, read and review.**

* * *

><p><strong>No extra for today. :(<strong>


	7. The Time-Space Administration Bureau

**Nanoha and the Fairy Tail**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
>Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter Seven: The Time-Space Administration Bureau<span>**

Nanoha awoke at half-past five the next morning as abruptly and completely as if somebody had yelled in her ear. For a few moments she lay immobile as the prospect of the hearing filled every tiny particle of her brain, then, unable to bear it, she leapt out of bed. Shamal had laid out a freshly laundered white sundress and her pink ribbon on the desk. Nanoha scrambled into them.

Her friends were fast asleep; Subaru comedically sprawled on her back with her moth wide open and her foot against Teana's cheek. They did not stir as Nanoha crossed the room, stepped out into the hallway, and closed the door softly behind her. Trying not to think of the next time she would see Fate and the others, when they might no longer be fellow students at St. Hilde, Nanoha walked quietly down the stairs, and into the great hall.

She had expected it to be empty, but it was not. When she reached the door she heard the soft rumble of voices on the other side and when she pushed it open she saw Zafira, Shamal, Arf, Yuuno, Ginga, and, much to Nanoha's surprise, Tier Harribel sitting there almost as though they were waiting for her. Lady Satsuki was sitting at the round table again, complete immersed in a stack of papers while barely touching her tea. All were fully dressed except Shamal, who was wearing a quilted dressing gown. She leapt to her feet the moment she entered.

"Breakfast," she said as she hurried Nanoha into to a seat.

"Morning, Nanoha," said Harribel. "You sleep all right? Must have had a lot on your mind."

"Yeah," said Nanoha. "When did you get back?"

"This morning," said Harribel. "Been scouting around Hueco Mundo to see if Stern might try to recruit the Hollows again. She hasn't made a move yet, but Baraggan's on her side and it's only a matter of time before the so-called King amasses his army. Dropped by to see you off while I made my report."

"What do you want to eat, Nanoha?" Shamal interrupted. "Oatmeal? Muffins? Hash browns? Bacon and eggs? Toast?"

"Just – just toast, thanks," said Nanoha.

Yuuno glanced at Nanoha, then said to Ginga, "What were you saying about Danzo?"

"Oh…yeah…well, we need to be a bit more careful, he's been asking Dad, Wendi, and I strange questions…I think he might suspect something…"

"Wouldn't put it past old Danzo Shimura," said Harribel. "That man is as clever as he is dangerous. One of the oldest soldiers in the TSAB and head of the Enforcer Division. You know they call him the 'Darkness of the TSAB'…"

Nanoha felt vaguely grateful that she was not required to join in the conversation. Her insides were squirming. Shamal placed a couple pieces of toast and jam in front of her; she tried to eat, but it was like chewing carpet. Shamal sat down on her other side and started fussing with her dress, brushing off crumbs and smoothing out creases. Nanoha wished she wouldn't.

"…and I'll have to tell Carim-sama I can't do night duty tomorrow, y boss gave me an important case," Ginga said.

"I'll cover for you," said Zafira. "I'm okay I've got a report to finish anyway…"

Zafira was not wearing his Barrier Jacket, but a formal blue suit with a military-styled white coat thrown over. He turned form Ginga to Nanoha.

"How are you feeling?"

Nanoha shrugged.

"It'll all be over soon," Arf said bracingly with a hand on her shoulder. "In a few hours' time you'll be cleared."

Nanoha said nothing.

"The hearing's on my floor, in Leti Lowran's office. She's Head of the Department of Law Enforcement and she's the one who'll be questioning you."

"I've met Lowran ebfore," Nanoha," said Arf earnestly. "She's good friends with Lindy. That doesn't mean she'll go easy on you, but she's always fair. She'll hear you out."

Nanoha nodded, still unable to think of anything to say.

"Don't lose your temper," said Harribel abruptly. "Be polite and stick to the facts."

Nanoha nodded again.

"The law's on your side," said Yuuno quietly. "Even underage mages are allowed to use magic in life-threatening situations."

Something very cold trickled down the back of Nanoha's neck; for a moment she thought someone was putting a Bakshi spell on her again, then she realized that Shamal was attacking her hair with a wet comb. She pressed hard on the top of her head.

"Doesn't it ever lie flat?" she said desperately.

Nanoha shook her head.

Zafira checked his watch and looked up at Nanoha.

"I think we'll go now," he said. "We're a bit early, but I think you'll be better off there than hanging around here."

"Okay," said Nanoha automatically, dropping her toast and getting to her feet.

"You'll be all right, Nanoha," said Ginga, patting her on the arm.

"Good luck," said Yuuno. "I'm sure it will be fine."

"And try to keep your cool," said Harribel grimly. "It won't help your chances if you go full Visored in the middle of the court room."

Nanoha nodded dully. Shamal hugged her.

"We've all got our fingers crossed," she said.

"Right," said Nanoha. "Well…see you later then."

She followed out the door and along the hall. She heard a small _pop _and looked down as Scarlet the Puppy matched her and Zafira's pace. Zafira unbolted the door and they stepped out into the cold, gray dawn.

Nanoha blinked. Just beyond the front gilded gates of the Garden of Time was a wide stretch of a sandy shore and a familiar little shack nestled close to the lapping waves. Not far away from the beach was an expansive, futuristic city that Nanoha had seen time and time again and was a place Nanoha normally looked forward to visiting. Nanoha blinked again. They were in Cranagan, the capital of Mid-childa.

"It pays to have a mobile base of operations, don't you think?" said Zafira.

"You don't normally walk to work, do you?" Nanoha asked him, as they set of briskly past the gates.

"No, I usually use the Corridors," said Zafira, "but obviously you can't, and I think it's best we arrive in a thoroughly non-magical fashion…make a better impression, given what you're being disciplines for…."

They walked through the sand, stopping for a short second to say hello to Squid Girl as they opened up the shack, and made their way over to the monorail station. Though was barely the crack of dawn, the station was already full of early morning commuters. Nanoha picked up Scarlet and Zafira took her hand so that they wouldn't be separated; Zafira mumbled how often she lost Hayate like this. They bought their tickets from an automatic ticket machine and five minutes later they were boarding the monorail that took them off toward the center of Cranagan. Zafira kept anxiously checking and rechecking the map above the windows.

"Four stops, Nanoha…three stops left now…two stops to go, Nanoha…"

They got off at a station in the very heart of Cranagan, swept from the monorail in a tide of besuited men and women carrying briefcases. Down the escalator they went, through the ticket barrier, and emerged onto a board street lined with imposing-looking buildings, already full of traffic. And in the center of it all was the TSAB Mid-Childan Main Office.

"Whoa," Nanoha said without realization it.

"Yeah, pretty impressive, ain't it?" said Zafira, smirking.

Nanoha could only stare at the main office building. A single silver tower that effortlessly overshadowed the surrounding skyscrapers; so tall that it looked like it could pierce the heavens. Four smaller towers surrounded the main office, each one giving off a strange light aimed at the central tower – to keep the building standing maybe?

Zafira grabbed her shoulder, pulling Nanoha out of her stupor, and joined the wave of office workers crossing the street. As they walked towards the main office building, they took a quick stroll through an impeccable garden that was set on either side of the walkway. For some reason, seeing the array of beautiful flowers seemed to put Nanoha in a worse mood.

They joined a long queue of workers forming a line at the front entrance of the Main Office. Zafira was tapping his foot impatiently and constantly checking his watch as the line slowly moved up. Nanoha distracted herself by watching Scartlet chase after butterflies through the flowerbeds; she looked so happy to finally be out in the open again. And before Nanoha knew it, she and Zafira were at the front of the line. A blue-skinned holographic woman stood at the front entrance, surrounded by dozens of holographic screens.

"Hello, Mr. Yagami," said the holographic woman. "It is unusual to see you at the front entrance."

"Circumstances, Cortana," said Zafira. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an ID badge that Cortana scanned through her screens, which gave a soft _beep_. "I'm escorting Nanoha Takamachi. She's been called in for a Disciplinary Meeting."

"Yes, she is scheduled for a hearing today," said Cortana, shifting her focus from one screen to another. "Admittance has been approved. Visitor, please take this badge and attach it to the front of your dress."

A cluster of small holographic boxes floated in the air for a moment before they rapidly joined together, creating a single blue square. Nanoha plucked the holographic square out of the air, surprised that she could touch it. It said _Nanoha Takamachi, Disciplinary Hearing _on the front. She pinned it to the front of her dress as Cortana spoke again.

"Visitors to the Time-Space Administration Bureau are required to submit to a search and present your Intelligent Device for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the atrium. The Time-Space Administration Bureau wishes you a pleasant day."

The front doors of the main office slid open and Zafira walked inside, followed by Scarlet, nipping at Zafira's heels, and then Nanoha, whose mouth had fallen open.

If she had thought the outside of the main office was impressive, then she was blown away by the inside. They were standing at one end of a very long and splendid hall with highly polished, white marbled floors. The air was riddled with hundreds of crystal-colored computer screens inlaid with gleaming golden symbols that were continually moving and changing. The walls on each side were painted with dozens of enlarged Magic Circles, each a different shape and color. Every few seconds a mage would emerge from one of the left-hand Magic Circle it a quick flash of light; on the right-hand side, short queues of mages were forming before each Magic Circle, waiting to depart.

Halfway down the hall was a fountain. A group of golden statues, larger than life, stood in the middle of a circular pool. Tallest of them all was a noble-looking knight with his sword pointing straight up in the air. Grouped around him was a beautiful mage carrying a long scepter, an imposing dragon with its wings spread wide, an alien man carrying a gun, and a rabbit faunus clutching a cross. The last three were all looking adoringly at the knight and mage. Glittering jets of water were flying from the sword and scepter, the aliens pistol, the dragon's mouth, and the faunus' ears, so that the tinkling hiss of falling water was added the pops and cracks of teleporters and the clatter of footsteps as hundreds of mages, most of whom were wearing glum, early-morning looks, strode toward a set of silver doors at the far end of the hall.

"This way," said Zafira.

They joined the throng, wending their way between the Bureau workers, some of whom were carrying tottering piles of papers, others battered briefcases, still others reading the Daily News as they walked. As they passed the fountain Nanoha saw silver coins glinting up at her from the bottom of the pool. A small, smudged sign beside it read:

_All proceeds from the Fountain of Universal Brethren will be given to Saint Church Hospital._

_If I'm not expelled from St. Hilde, I'll put ten thousand credits worth of coins,_ Nanoha found herself thinking desperately.

"Over here, Nanoha," said Zafira, and they stepped out of the stream of Bureau employees heading for the doors, toward a desk on the left, which hung a sign saying SECURITY. A badly shaved mage looked up as they approached and put down his Daily News.

"I'm escorting a visitor," said Zafira, gesturing to Nanoha.

"Step over here," said the mage in a board voice.

Nanoha walked around, standing in the middle of a blue circle, and the mage pressed a button on his desk. The blue ring floated up and down around Nanoha, scanning her in a strange light. Nanoha fought hard to hold back a laugh; the scanner made her feel ticklish.

"Device," grunted the security mage at Nanoha, stopping the scanner and holding out his hand.

Nanoha unclasped Raising Heart from her neck and handed it to him. The mage dropped her into a small box then closed it from the top, typing in a few buttons on his computer. A strange light passed through the box, a lot like a copying machine. A narrow strip of paper came speeding out of the computer. The mage tore this off and read the writing upon it.

"Kaiser metal, ruby core, been in use four years. That correct?"

"Yes," said Nanoha nervously.

"I keep this," said the mage, impaling the slip of paper on a small brass spike. "You get this back," he added, thrusting Raising Heart at Nanoha.

"Thank you."

"Hang on….," said the mage slowly.

His eyes darted from the holographic visitor's badge on Nanoha to her chest; the sundress Shamal picked out did not do much to cover.

"Thank you, Eric," said Zafira firmly, and grasping Nanoha by the shoulder, he steered her away from the desk and back into the stream of mages walking through the silver doors.

Jostled slightly by the crowd, Nanoha followed Zafira through the doors into the smaller hall beyond, where at least twenty elevators were in use. Once them found an open space, Nanoha and Zafira found themselves jammed against the wall of the elevator. Several mages were looking at her curiously; she stared at her feet to avoid catching anyone's eye, tugging on the neck of her sundress as she did so. When the doors closed, one of the men behind her spoke:

"Long time, no see, Takamachi."

Nanoha felt a cold shiver run down her spine; she knew who it was without looking. Slowly, she turned her head and saw the smirking, one-eyed face of Slade Wilson, disgraced Enforcer and Nanoha's former Tactical Combat Instructor. The one-eyed killer was dressed in an orange prison uniform with his hands and legs shackled, flanked by two dark-looking soldiers. The memories of Slade Wilson's evil deeds were still fresh in her mind: murdering Midget Crowbel, lying and betraying Carim, torturing Nel on the pretense of teaching a class, and be directly responsible for Alicia's death. Nanoha scowled as she spoke:

"What are you doing here, Slade?"

"Heading up to Interrogation and Torture," said Slade, unnaturally nonchalant. "The dumbasses here are still convinced I'm working with Gracia and making up the whole story about you-know-who being back. Been in and out of Morino's office more times than I can count. He knows I'm telling the truth, but that asshole Largo is still convinced I'm lying."

"Nothing less than what you deserve," Nanoha sneered.

"Maybe," said Slade. "By the way, you seen your girlfriend lately? Now she was a hot little number."

Nanoha clenched her fist, tempted to give Slade a patch for his left eye to match the one on his right. Scarlet bit Nanoha's thumb hard, making her hiss. She looked into Scarlet's eyes and knew what she was trying to say: _don't lose your temper_. And much as it annoyed her, picking a fight with Slade Wilson in the middle of a TSAB elevator would not make a very good first impression. So Nanoha took a deep breath and ignored Slade elevator ascended slowly, while Cortana's voice rang out.

"Level seven, Department of Games and Sports, incorporating the Interdimensional Riot Force League Headquarters, Official Sabbac Club, and Official Patents Office."

The lift doors opened; Nanoha glimpsed an untidy-looking hallway with various posters of Riot Force teams tacked lopsidedly on the walls; one of the mages in the elevator, who was carrying a rumbling crate, extricated himself with difficulty and disappeared down the hallway. The doors closed, the elevator juddered upward again, and Cortana's voice said, "Level eight, Department of Transportation, incorporating the Dimensional Transfer Network Authority, Vehicle Registration, Hiraishin Office, and Corridor Test Center."

Once again, the doors opened and two mages got out; at the same time, several Fay wearing TSAB registered uniforms swooped into the elevator. Nanoha stared up as they flapped idly around above her head, clutching tiny satchels with TIME-SPACE ADMINISTRATION BUREAU stamped on them.

"Just Interdepartmental memos," Zafira muttered to her. "We tried an electronic mailing system for a while, but the power bill was enormous and suffered from a constant string of blackouts…worst three days of my life…"

As they clattered upward again, the Fay flapped around the light of the elevator's ceiling.

"Level nine, Department of Interdimensional Cooperation, incorporating the Interdimensional Trading Standards Body, the Interdimensional Office of Law, and the Interdimensional Confederation of Mages, Mid-Childa Division."

When the doors opened, two of the Fay zoomed out with a couple more mages, but several more Fay zoomed in, so that the light flickered and flashed as they darted around. With the lack of people, Nanoha could see Slade more clearly; he was still grinning in his usual smug manner.

"Level ten, Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, incorporating Beast, Being, and Spirit Divisions, Faunus Liaison Office, and Wildlife Preservation Corps."

One mage exited the elevator pursued by a little flock of Fay. The doors closed shut yet again.

"Level eleven, Department of Disaster Relief, including Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, MIB Headquarters, and Gulf Special Rescue Corps."

Everybody left the elevators on this floor except Zafira, Nanoha, Slade, and his guards. The remaining memos continued to soar around the lights as the elevator juddered upward again, and then the doors opened and Cortana said, "Level twelve, Department of Law Enforcement, including the Wolkenritter Office, Enforcer Headquarters, and the Torture and Interrogation Force.

"This is us, Nanoha," said Zafira, and they followed Slade and his guards out of the elevator into a hallway lined with doors. "The Wolkenritter Office in on the other side of the floor."

"Looks like this is where we part ways, Takamachi," Slade called as he was ushered in the opposite direction. "I enjoyed our time together. Say 'hello' to Fate Testarossa for me, will you? She's my biggest fan."

Scarlet bit Nanoha's thumb again to stop her from turning around and jumping Slade.

They turned a corner, walked through a pair of heavy oak doors, and emerged in a cluttered, open area divided into cubicles, which were buzzing with talk and laughter. Memos were zooming in and out of cubicles like miniature rockets. A bronze plaque on the nearest cubicle read ENFORCER HEADQUARTERS.

Nanoha looked surreptitiously through the doorways as they passed. Some Enforcers had covered their cubicle walls with everything from pictures of wanted criminals and photographs of their families, to posters of their favorite Riot Force teams. A scarlet-clothed man with a long ponytail was sitting with his boots up on his desk, dictating a report to his computer AI. A little further along, a short-haired blond woman was talking over the top of her cubicle wall to Wendi Nakajima.

"Morning, Yagami," said Wendi carelessly, as they drew closer. "I've been wanting a word with you, have you got a second?"

"Yes, if it is a second," said Zafira. "I'm in a bit of a hurry.

They were talking to each other as though they hardly knew each other, and when Nanoha opened her mouth to say hello to Wendi, Scarlet bit her thumb _again_. Nanoha wondered it there was going to be anything left of it after today. They followed Wendi along the row and into the very last cubicle.

Nanoha received a slight shock; the face of a shaggy haired man was gazing down on her from every direction. Newspaper clippings and old photographs – one of them had the entire Nakajima Sisters mixed with other women wearing bodysuits – papered the walls. The only free space was a map of the galaxy in which little red pins were glowing like jewels.

"Here," said Wendi brusquely, shoving a sheaf of paper into his hand, "I need you do deliver this to the Head of your department. Their reports of Jail Scaglietti sightings within the last twelve months. The boss wants the Wolkenritter Office scouting all these locations for any clues on his whereabouts."

Wendi tipped Nanoha an enormous wink and added, in a whisper, "Got the latest issue of that magazine Arf's been wanting; it's freaking hilarious. And don't take too long, Yagami, the delay on that Kraang report held our investigation up for a month."

"If you had read my report, you would know that the Kraang have not had direct involvement with Scaglietti for years," said Zafira coolly. "And I'm afraid you'll have to wait for information on the scouting regimen, we're extremely busy in our department."" He dropped his voice and said, "If you can get away before seven, we're having meatballs back at the manor."

He beckoned to Nanoha and led her out of Wendi's cubicle, through a second set of oak doors, into another passage, turned left, marched along another hallway, and finally reached a third set of oak doors the bore a bronze plaque above it reading WOLKENRITTER OFFICE. They walked inside and emerged in another open area filled with cubicles just like the Enforcers Headquarters, but this area was noticeably neater. Papers were filed properly, employees were moving through the office in an organized manner; even the floor looked freshly polished.

"Wow, it's so…clean…," said Nanoha, impressed.

"It didn't always used to be this way," said Zafira. "But after Signum took over, she's kept the whole office in line. She's a strict taskmaster, but as much as I hate to admit it, the office has never been more efficiant – ah, here's my desk. Have a seat, Nanoha."

Zafira's cubicle seemed to be slightly smaller than the others as the space was cluttered with a huge oak desk and a number of overflowing file cabinets lining the edges of the space, on top of which were tottering piles of files. The little wall space available bore witness to the Wolkenritter's many successes; there were several clippings of the Wolkenritter being rewarded for their achievements, personal letters from people they had helped, and a silver shield to Zafira for Services to the Bureau. Zafira's desked was cluttered with piles of papers, but on the corner was a little space cleared for a photograph of the Yagami family. Nanoha noticed that Signum's picture had been ripped out.

"Sorry about the limited space," said Zafira apologetically. Taking off his coat and placing it on the back of his chair. "I used to have a bigger office, but that was back when I was head of the department. Have to make do with what I have."

Nanoha squeezed herself in a corner of the cubicle between two filing cabinets while Scarlet sniffed a pile of papers, which she accidentally knocked over with her tail and buried her in an avalanche of papers. Zafira rifled through the sheaf of paper Wendi had given him.

"Ah," he said, grinning, as he extracted a copy of a magazine entitled_ Ankhseram _from its midst, "yes…." He flicked through it. "Yes, she's right, I'm sure Arf will find this hilarious – actually, where is Arf?" he added, looking around.

"Buried somewhere between Arkham Transfer resume and the Ninja Report," said Nanoha.

Just then, a memo Fay zoomed in and fluttered to rest on top of Zafira's stack. Zafira took the note it handed him, unfolded it, and read aloud, "'Third assault on Faunus resident in East Zone 12, requesting immediate investigation.' This is getting ridiculous…."

"Someone attacked a Faunus?"

"A bunch of racial assholes most likely," said Zafira, frowning. "This has been going on for years. Just last week, we had two for assault and battering and one for the destruction of private property. There are several human-only groups who look down on people because they are different, like this one group called Humanity First that tried to force the Bureau to pass a legislation to deport all non-humans from Mid-Childa. Back when I was Head, I made it a priority to track down these groups, but Signum seems to think our forces will be better suited to other Bureau related matters."

"Can't the Enforcers catch them?"

"Oh no, this is too trivial for Enforcers, it'll most likely be Special Duty Section 6 – oh, hello, Captain Yagami."

Nanoha almost jumped when she realized that Signum was standing just a couple feet away. Standing tall and fierce like an Amazon warrior, Signum Yagami wore the same uniform as Zafira, but her coat was decorated with a large, pointed golden cross on the back. Her sword, Laevatein, was strapped to her belt; Signum's hand remained on the pommel as if prepared to fight.

"Oh, I see you're here, Takamachi," said Signum.

"Nice to see you too, Sig – EEP!" Nanoha yelped as Signum slammed Laevatein close to her head.

"Do not address me in such an informal manner!" Signum snapped roughly. "I am the Head of Wolkenritter, the Knight of the Sword, the General of the Raging Flame, Captain Signum Yagami!"

**CAPTAIN SIGNUM YAGAMI  
>HEAD OF WOLKENRITTER<br>KNIGHT OF THE SWORD  
>GENERAL OF THE RAGING FLAME<strong>

"Wait, you get you own title card," Nanoha said, dumbstruck.

"One of the perks of the job," said Captain Yagami.

"That used to be mine," Zafira mumbled, turning around in his chair. "Can I help you with something, Captain Yagami?"

"Actually, it's more like I'm helping you," said Captain Yagami, sliding Laevatein back in her belt. "Truth be told, I didn't know how best to reach you since you know no longer respond to my messages. I sent a Fay to the Orphanage just in case but you've obviously missed it – an urgent message came for you ten minutes ago – "

"I know about the Faunus assault," said Zafira.

"No, no, it's not the Faunus, it about Takamachi's hearing – they've changed the time and venue – it starts at eight o'clock now and it's down in old Courtroom Nine – "

"Down in old – but they told me – Saint King – "

Zafira looked at his watch, let out a yelp, and leapt from his chair.

"Quick, Nanoha, we should have been there five minutes ago!"

Captain Yagami flattened herself against the filing cabinets as Zafira left the office at a run, Nanoha on his heels. Captain Yagami shook her head at their fleeing backsides before looking down at the mess on Zafira's floor, just as Scarlet head popped out from the paper pile.

"Why have they changed the time?" Nanoha said breathlessly as they hurtled past the Enforcer cubicles; people poked out their heads and stared as they streaked past. Nanoha felt as though she had left all her insides back at Zafira's desk.

"No idea, but thank goodness we got here so early, if you'd missed it things would have been catastrophic!"

Zafira skidded to a halt beside the elavators and jabbed impatiently on the down button.

"Come ON!"

He elevator clattered into view and they hurried inside. Every time it stopped Zafira cursed furiously and pummeled the number zero button.

"Those courtrooms haven't been used in years," said Zafira angrily. "I can't think why they're doing it down there – unless – but no…"

A plump woman carrying a smoking beaker entered the lift at that moment, and Zafira did not elaborate.

"The Atrium," said Cortana's voice and the elevator doors slid open, showing Nanoha a distant glimpse of the golden statues in the plump woman got out and two men in white uniforms got in with a young, dark-haired girl between them. If Nanoha wasn't so scared about her impending trial, she'd wonder why the girl – probably not even in the double digits – was wearing chains on her wrists and ankles.

"Morning, Zafira," said one of the white-clothed men as the lift began to descend. "Don't often see you down here…."

"Urgent business," said Zafira, who was bouncing on the balls of his feet and throwing anxious looks over at Nanoha.

"Ah, yes," said the man, surveying Nanoha unblinkingly. "Of course."

Nanoha barely had emotion to spare for him, but his unfaltering gaze did not make her feel any more comfortable.

"Society of Secrets," said Cortana, and left it at that.

"Quick, Nanoha as the lift doors rattled open, and they sped up a hallway quite different from those above. The walls were bare; there were no windows and no doors apart from a plain black one set at the very end of the hallway. Nanoha expected them to go through it, but instead Zafira seized her by the arm and dragged her to the left, where there was an opening leading to a flight of steps.

"Down here, down here," panted Zafira, taking two steps at a time. "The elevator doesn't even come down this far..._why_ they're doing it there…"

They reached the bottom of the steps and ran along yet another hallway, which bore a great resemblance to that which led to Presea's classroom at St. Hilde, with rough stone walls and torches in brackets. The doors they passed here and there were heavy wooden ones with iron bolts and keyholes.

"Courtroom…ten…I think…we're nearly…yes."

Zafira stumbled to a halt outside a grimy dark door with an immense iron lock and slumped against the wall, clutching a stitch in his chest.

"Go on," she panted, pointing his thumb at the door. "Get in there."

"Aren't – aren't you coming with - ?"

"No, no, I'm not allowed. Good luck!"

Nanoha's heart was beating violently against her ribcage. She swallowed hard, turned the heavy iron door handle, and stepped inside the courtroom.

* * *

><p><strong>Nanoha's long foreboding disciplinary hearing has finally arrived and now her future rests in the hands of the people who are ready to discredit her. In the next chapter, Nanoha faces off against the worst the Time-Space Administration Bureau has to offer and a surprising savior comes ready to pull her out of the fire. Will Nanoha emerged from this trial with Raising Heart unscathed? Or will the baised nature of the TSAB overshadow true justice? Find out on the next Fairy Tail!<strong>

**Please, read and review.**

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><p><em><strong>~Nanoha's Corner~<strong>_

**#1: Glimpse of Hope**

"Good morning, Miss Kuroi.

Mato didn't know what was so great about it as she was shepherded into the Bureau's main office by her keepers from the Society of Secrets; the chains clattering against her knees and elbows. A lot of people stared as they passed, clearly curious as to why such a young child was bound in such medieval shackles. But when they caught sight of the Blanks escorting her, they thought better to leave it alone. Mato felt nothing but hate for those people.

One year ago, Mato Kuroi came to the main office with her mother and a sparkle in her eyes, stricken with awe at the pure amazement of the building and the people inside it. She even had the honor of being personally escorted by Midget Crowbel, a famous admiral that had earned a spot on the TSAB's High Council. Back then, Mato Kuroi knew nothing but love and happiness.

But that joy died a year ago, when she finally realized that she had ripped from her home and her mother killed in front of her eyes. Now her entire existence belonged to the TSAB and the Society of Secrets. For one year, the Blanks performed hundreds of painful experiments, testing her for something that she wasn't even aware of, forcing her to fight armies of monsters and female clones. Oddly enough, she always blacked out during those stressful time and when she woke up, she found herself surrounded by piles of bodies, covered from head-to-toe in blood. Mato watched slowly as her innocence was chipped away piece by piece and the Blanks would just watch her, expressionless as they poked and prodded her. Mato was so angry…she could just…

Mato was brought out of her torpor as the elevator bell rang and the doors slid open. A fat woman walked out carrying something smoking and Mato and the Blanks stepped in. There were two other people in the elevator with them. A tall man with a head of shocking white, and a teenage girl with her hair tied into sideways ponytail.

"Morning, Zafira. Don't often see you down here…."

"Urgent business."

"Ah, yes. Of course."

Mato stared up at the girl, somehow fascinated by her. The girl looked back at Mato, her eyes drifting down to her chains. The girl looked back up and stared Mato directly in the eyes, and, for a moment, she thought she saw a hint of sadness in her eyes. The girl opened her mouth as if wanting to say something when the cool, female voice said "Society of Secrets" and she and the tall man took off down the hallway and disappeared to the side.

"Wasn't that Nanoha Takamachi with Zafira?" One of the Blanks asked.

"I heard she was facing trial," said the other Blank. "Looks like they're heading down to the old courtrooms. Sounds like her fate is already sealed.

Nanoha Takamachi….Mato thought of that name as she was pushed down the hall towards the door on the opposite end. For some reason, she started to think this wasn't the last time she would hear that name. She didn't understand why, but some feeling welled up inside her chest; a feeling she had not known in a year.

Hope.


	8. The Hearing

**Nanoha and the Fairy Tail**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
>Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter Eight: The Hearing<span>**

Nanoha gasped; she could not help herself. The large dungeon she had entered was horribly familiar. She had not only seen it before, she had _been _here before: This was the place she had visited inside Carim's Chain of Memories, the place she had watched Amon and his compatriots be sentenced to life imprisonment in Gefangnis.

The walls were made of dark stone, dimly lit by torches. Empty benches rose on either side of her, but ahead, in the highest benches of all, were many shadowy figures. They had been talking in low voices, but as the heavy door swung closed behind Nanoha an ominous silence fell.

A cold male voice rang across the courtroom.

"You're late."

"Sorry," said Nanoha nervously. "I-I didn't know the time had changed."

"That is not the Grand Magic Council's fault," said the voice. "A Fay was sent to you this morning. Take your seat."

"**They could at least say 'please',**" Raising Heart muttered, but Nanoha shushed her.

Nanoha dropped her gaze to the chair in the center of the room, the arms of which were covered in chairs. She had seen those chains spring to life and bind whoever sat between them. Her footsteps echoed loudly as she walked across the stone floor. When she sat gingerly on the edge of the chair the chains clinked rather threateningly but did not bind her. Feeling rather sick she looked up at the people seated at the bench above.

There were about fifty of them, all, as far as she could see, wearing navy-blue robes elaborately worked silver badges of the TSAB mark on the left hand side of the chest and all staring down their noses at her, some with very austere expressions, others looks of frank curiosity.

In the very middle of the front row sat Largo Kiel, admiral and last of the TSAB High Council. Admiral Kiel was a wizened bald man who marched around wrapped in his admiral's jacket with pride, though today he had dispensed with it; he had also dispensed too with the indulgent smile he had once worn when he spoke to Nanoha. A thin woman with graying purple hair and bejeweled forehead like Lindy's sat on Admiral Kiel's left; she wore horn-rimmed glasses and looked forbidding. On Admiral Kiel's right was a man, but he was sitting so far back on the bench that his face was in shadow.

"Very well," said Admiral Kiel. "The accused being present – finally – let us begin. Are you ready?" he called down the row.

"Yes, sir," said a monotonous voice Nanoha knew. Fate's step-brother and Lindy's son Chrono Harlaown was sitting at the very edge of the front bench. Nanoha looked at Chrono, expecting some sign of recognition from him, but none came. Chrono's eyes were fixed on the typewriter presented to him; a grimace on his expression.

"Disciplinary hearing of the twenty-fourth of March," said Admiral Kiel in a ringing voice, and Chrono began type at once., "into offenses committed under the Decree for the Reasonable restriction of Underage Magic and Interdimensional Statute of Secrecy by Nanoha P. Takamachi, resident of number nine, Erika Road, Uminari City, Tokyo Prefecture.

"Interrogators: Largo M. Kiel, Time-Space Administration Bureau High Councilor; Leti L. Lowran, Head of the Department of Law Enforcement; Regius P. Gaiz, Capital Defense Corps Commander. Court Records, Chrono T. Harlaown – "

" – Witness for the defense, Presea F. Testarossa," said a quiet voice from behind Nanoha, who turned her head so fast she cricked her neck.

Presea was striding serenely across the room wearing long rich-purple robes and a perfectly calm expression as she drew level with Nanoha and looked up at Kiel.

The members of the Grand Magic Council were muttering. All eyes were now on Presea. Some looked annoyed, others slightly frightened, but the majority of the court looked upon Presea with utter disdain. Nanoha couldn't say she was surprised; the last time Presea had set foot in the TSAB, she had been thrown out onto the streets and her reputation in tatters.

A powerful emotion had risen in Nanoha chest at the sight of Presea, a fortified, hopeful feeling. Though they shared a mutual dislike of each other, Nanoha was grateful to Presea for the many time she had saved her in the past few years. She wanted to catch Presea's eye, but Presea was not looking her way; she was continuing to look up at the obviously flustered Admiral Kiel.

"What do you think you are doing here, Testarossa," said Admiral Kiel, his voice laced with pure venom. "Need I remind you that the Grand Magic Council has banned from entering the Time-Space Administration Bureau Main Office? Got out, right now!"

"Believe me, I gives me no pleasure to be here," Presea said with a drawl. "But in accordance to the Grand Magic Council Charter of Rights, the accused has the right to legal defense of their choosing. Nanoha Takamachi has gracious asked for my assistance, isn't that right, Takamachi?"

"Er – yeah, that's right," Nanoha said slowly.

"**Did you really ask her to be your lawyer?**" Raising Heart whispered.

"She's the last person I'd turn to for legal advice," Nanoha muttered. "Think Carim-sama or Lady Satsuki sent her."

"**Must be, though I never thought we'd be desperate for her help,**" said Raising Heart.

"Ah," said Admiral Kiel, who looked thoroughly disconcerted. "Very well then. Yes. You – er – then I suppose you got our – er – message that the time and – er –place of the hearing had been changed, then?"

"I seem to have conveniently missed it," said Presea. "However, due to a lucky mistake I arrived at the Bureau three hours early, so no harm done. I was a pleasure to see Cortana again. I see you made yourself comfortable with by old digital assistant."

"Yes – well – I suppose we'll need another chair – I – Harlaown, could you?"

Chrono stepped away from his typewriter for a moment to drag another chair across the room and set it down next to Nanoha. Chrono looked up, throwing a quick smirk to Nanoha before his expression turned blank and walked back to his place on the bench. Presea sat down, put the tips of her long fingers together, and looked at Admiral Kiel over them with an expression of polite interest. The Grand Magic Council was still muttering and fidgeting restlessly; only when Admiral Kiel spoke again did they settle down.

"Yes," said Admiral Kiel again, shuffling his notes. "Well, then. So. The charges. Yes."

He extricated a piece of paper from the pile before him, took a deep breath, and read, "The charges against the accused are as follows: That she did knowingly, deliberately, and in full awareness of the illegality of her actions, having received a previous written warning from the Time-Space Administration Bureau on a similar charge, performed a Cero in a Machlos-inhabited area, in the presence of a Machlos, on March sixteenth at twenty-two minutes past nine, which constitutes an offense under paragraph C of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Magic, and also under section thirteen of the Interdimensional Confederation of Mages' Statute of Secrecy.

"You are Nanoha P. Takamachi, of number nine, Erika Road, Uminari City, Tokyo Prefecture?" Admiral Kiel said, glaring at Nanoha over the top of his paper.

"I…don't know what my middle name is, but yes," Nanoha said.

"**Isn't it kinda weird that you don't know your own middle name?**" asked Raising Heart.

"We'll talk about it later when I'm not in trouble," Nanoha whispered.

"You received an official warning from the Bureau for using illegal magic three years ago, did you not?" Admiral Kiel continued.

"Yes, but – "

"And you used your Visored powers to perform a Cero on the night of the sixteenth of March?" said Admiral Kiel.

"Yes," said Nanoha, "but – "

"Knowing that you are not permitted to use magic outside school while you are under the age of seventeen?"

"Yes, but – "

"Knowing that you were in an area full of Machlos?"

"Yes, but you shouldn't call them – "

"Fully aware that you were in close proximity to a Machlos at the time?"

"_Yes," _said Nanoha angrily, "but I only used it because we were – "

The woman with the glasses on Admiral Kiel's left cut across her in a booming voice.

"You were able to construct a fully functional Hollow Mask?"

"Er – yes?" said Nanoha.

"Have you always been able to construct a complete Hollow mask?"

"Not always," said Nanoha. "Up until I was thirteen, I've only been able to make partial masks before."

"And you are fifteen years old?"

"Yes, and – "

"You learned this at school?"

"Well, not exactly, Harribel-sensei personally taught me how to control it because of the – "

"Impressive," said Admiral Lowran, staring down at her, "a true Visored at that age…very impressive indeed. Even Ichigo Kurosaki, as impressive as he is, couldn't do it that young."

Some of the other men and women around her were muttering again; a few nodded, but others were frowning and shaking their heads.

"It's not a question of how impressive the magic was," said Admiral Kiel in a testy voice. "In fact, the more impressive the worst it is, I would have thought, given that the Visoreds are humans with the powers of Hollows! And to be used in plain view of a Machlos no less!"

Those who had been frowning now murmured in agreement, which goaded Nanoha enough to jump into speech.

"I did it because of the Heartless!" she said loudly, before anyone could interrupt her again.

She had expected more muttering, but the silence that fell seemed to be somehow denser than before.

"Heartless," said Admiral Lowran after a moment, raising her eyebrows in astonishment. "What do you mean, Takamachi."

"I mean there were two Heartless down that alleyway and they went for me and my cousin!"

"Ah," said Admiral Kiel again, smirking unpleasantly as he looked around at the Grand Magic Council, as though inviting them to share the joke. "Yes. Yes, I thought we'd be hearing something like this."

"Heartless on Earth," Admiral Lowran said in a tone of great surprise. "I don't understand – "

"Don't you, Leti?" said Admiral Kiel, still smirking. "Let me explain. She's been thinking it through and decided Heartless would make a very nice little cover story, very nice indeed. Machlos can't see Heartless, can they, girl? Highly convenient, highly convenient…so it's just your word and no witnesses…"

"I'm not lying!" said Nanoha loudly, over another outbreak of muttering from the court. "There were two of them, coming from the opposite ends of the alley, everything went dark and cold and my cousin felt them and ran for it – "

"Enough, enough!" said Admiral Kiel with a very supercilious look on his face. "I'm sorry to interrupt what I'm sure would have been a very well-rehearsed story – "

Presea cleared her throat. The Grand Magic Council fell silent again.

"We do, in fact, have a witness to the presence of Heartless in that alleyway," she said, "other than Kenta Henken, I mean."

Admiral Kiel's bearded face seemed to slacken, as though somebody had let the air out of it. He stared down at Presea for a moment or two, then, with the appearance of a man puling himself back together, said, "We haven't got time to listen to more tall tales, I'm afraid, Testarossa. I want this dealt with quickly – "

"I may be wrong," said Presea with a slight edge in her voice, "but I am sure that under the Grand Magic Council Charter of Rights, the accused has the right to present witnesses for his or her case? Isn't that the policy of the Department of Law Enforcement, Admiral Lowran?" she continued, addressing the woman in glasses.

"True," said Admiral Lowran. "Perfectly true."

"Oh, very well, very well," snapped Admiral Kiel. "Where is this person?"

I brought her with me," said Presea. "She's just outside the door. Shall I - ?"

"No – Harlaown, you go," Admiral Kiel barked at Chrono, who got up at once, hurried down the steps from the judges balcony, and hastened past Presea and Nanoha without glancing at them.

A moment later, Chrono returned, followed by Captain Yūgao Uzuki. She looked stiff and formal as she always did; dressed in the same ninja outfit she had worn during the attack. Rather than taking a seat, Captain Uzuki kneeled down and bowed her head.

"Full name?" said Admiral Kiel loudly.

"Yūgao Uzuki," said Captain Uzuki in a monotone.

"And who exactly are you?" said Admiral Kiel, in a bored and lofty voice.

"I am a resident of Uminari City, close to where Nanoha Takamachi lives," said Captain Uzuki.

"You were the uniform of an ANBU, but we have no record of any ANBU living in Uminari City," said Admiral Lowran at once. "That situation has always been closely monitored, given…given past event."

"I am part of a branch affiliated with the Saint Church," said Captain Uzuki. "That is why the Bureau has no records of me, because I do not serve the Bureau."

"The Saint Church has its own ANBU?" said Admiral Kiel, eyeing her suspiciously. "We'll be checking that. You'll leave full details of your identification and occupation with Harlaown."

"I am afraid I cannot do that," said Captain Uzuki. "The code of the Saint Church prevents me from disclosing any information relating to the Saint Church, including its operatives."

"Must be so frustrating, Largo," Presea said in a mocking tone that Nanoha was well acquainted with. "Having all the power and yet having nothing to show for it."

"Admiral Kiel looked back down at her, her brows creased. "Very well," he said coolly. "What is your story?"

"I had gone out to buy cat food from the corner shop at the end of Clover Field, shortly after nine on the evening of the sixteenth of March," said Captain Uzuki at once, as though she had learned what she was saying by heart, "when I heard a disturbance down the alleyway between Clover Crescent and Clover Field. On approaching the mouth, I happened to notice something unusual moving through the shadows. It wasn't until after the appeared that I noticed they were chasing after what looked like two children, a boy and a girl."

"What did they look like?" said Admiral Lowran, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"The boy was rather large and muscular, but the girl was very thin – "

"No, no," said Admiral Lowran, "the Heartless…describe them.

"It was difficult to see them in the dark," said Captain Uzuki. "They were rather tall – roughly the size of an adult male – large round heads, crooked antenna, and bulging yellow eyes. From their description, I would classify them as Neo Shadow Heartless."

"Yes, that sounds about right," said Admiral Lowran, scribbling something on a sheet of paper. "But anyone can describe a Neo Shadow through books and pictures. Anything definitive you might want to add?"

"Yes," said Captain Uzuki. "I felt them. Everything went cold, and this was a very warm spring night, mark you. I felt as though all the happiness had gone from the world…memories flashed through my mind…memories of my husband's murder…"

Her voice shook and died. Admiral Lowran's eyes widened slightly.

"What did the Heartless do?" she asked, and Nanoha felt a rush of hope.

"They went for the children," said Captain Uzuki, her voice stronger and more confident now. "The boy had fallen. The girl was backing away, trying to repel the Heartless. That was Takamachi. She tried using the Cero tries, but the Heartless dodged her. The Heartless grabbed her by the throat, choking her. She made a third attempt with a Cero and blasted one of the Heartless through the head. The Heartless vanished, but she looked weak. The other Heartless tried to take the boy, but that was when I intervened. I rushed down the alleyway, withdrawing the tanto I had hidden under my sleeve, and cut the Heartless in half. Once I made certain the children were safe, I escorted them back to number nine and returned home later."

Admiral Lowran looked down at Captain Uzuki in silence; Admiral Kiel was not looking at her at all, but fidgeting with his papers. Finally he raised his eyes and said, rather aggressively, "That's what you saw, is it?"

"That was what happened," Captain Uzuki repeated.

"Very well," said Admiral Kiel. "You may go."

Captain Uzuki cast a dark look from Admiral Kiel to Presea, then vanished in a quick flash of movement that Nanoha couldn't follow. She heard the door slam sharply behind her.

"Not a very convincing witness," said Admiral Kiel loftily.

"I sounded very convincing from my perspective," said Admiral Lowran in her booming voice. "Not only had she provided a detailed report of the night in question, but she accurately described the effects of a Heartless attack. And I can't imagine why she would say they were there if they weren't – "

"But Heartless wandering around on a Non-Administrated world and just _happening _to come across the only mage on the entire planet?" snorted Admiral Kiel. "The odds on that must be very, very long, even Gabbiani wouldn't have bet – "

"Oh, I don't think any of us believe the Heartless were there by coincidence," said Presea lightly.

The man sitting to the right of Admiral Kiel with his face in shadow moved slightly, but everyone else was quite still and silent.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" asked Admiral Kiel icily.

"It means that I think they were ordered there," said Presea.

"I think we might have a record of it if someone had ordered a pair of Heartless to go strolling through Uminari City!" barked Admiral Kiel.

"Not if the Heartless are taking orders from someone other than the Time-Space Administration Bureau these days," said Presea calmly. "I believe Carim-sama has already given her views on the matter, Largo."

"Yes, she has," said Admiral Kiel forcefully, "and I have no reason to believe that her views are anything other than bilge, Testarossa. The Heartless remain in place in Gefangnis and are doing everything we ask them to."

"Then," said Presea, quietly but clearly, "we must ask ourselves why somebody within the Bureau ordered a pair of Heartless into that alleyway on the sixteenth of March."

In the complete silence that greeted these words, the man to the right of Admiral Kiel leaned forward so that Nanoha saw him for the first time.

She though he looked like a large, round bear. She was rather squat with a broad, square jaw, as little neck as Uncle Kenji, and a very rugged beard. His eyes were small, narrow, and slightly sunken. Everything from his unnaturally pressed uniform to his flat cut hair screamed order and discipline; Nanoha imagined Signum admired him as much as she did Crowbel.

"The Chair recognizes Lieutenant General Regius Gaiz, Commander of the Capital Defense Corps," said Admiral Kiel.

The man spoke in a smooth, rugged, booming voice that took Nanoha aback; she had expected a growl.

"I'm sure I must have misunderstood you, Professor Testarossa," he said with a simper that left his small, narrow eyes as cold as ever. "But it sounded for a moment as though you were suggesting that the Time-Space Administration Bureau had ordered an attack on this girl!"

He gave a booming laugh that made the hairs on the back of Nanoha's neck stand up. A few other members of the Grand Magic Council laughed with him. It could not have been plainer that not one of them was really amused.

"Ah, Regius, still kissing Largos skinny ass, I see," Presea taunted with a smirk. Nanoha moaned; she really wished Presea wouldn't make the situation worse by insulting the council. "If it is true that the Heartless are taking orders from the Time-Space Administration Bureau, and it is also true that two Heartless attacked Takamachi and her cousin on the Sixteenth of March, then it follows logically that somebody at the Bureau might have ordered the attacks. Of course, these particular Heartless may have been outside Bureau control – "

"There are no Heartless outside Bureau control!" snapped Admiral Kiel, who turned brick red.

Presea inclined her head in a little bow.

"Then undoubtedly the Bureau will be making a full inquiry into why two Heartless were so very far from Gefangnis and why they attacked without authorization."

"It is not for you to decide what the Time-Space Administration Bureau does or does not do, Testarossa!" snapped Admiral Kiel, now a shade of magenta of which Uncle Kenji would have been proud.

"Of course it isn't," said Presea mildly. "I was merely expressing my confidence that this matter will not go uninvestigated."

She glanced at Admiral Lowran, who readjusted her glasses and stared back at her, frowning slightly.

"I would remind everybody that the behavior of these Heartless, if indeed they are not figments of this girl's imagination, is not the subject of the hearing!" said Admiral Kiel. "We are here to examine Nanoha Takamachi's offenses under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Magic!"

"Of course we are," said Presea, "but the presence of Heartless in that alleyway is highly relevant. Clause seven of the Decree states that magic may be used before non-mages in exceptional circumstances, and as those exceptional circumstances include situations that threaten the life of the mage herself, or non-mages present at the time of the – "

"We are familiar with clause seven, thank you very much!" snarled Admiral Kiel.

"Of course you are," said Presea courteously. "Then we are in agreement that Takamachi's use of the Cero in these circumstances falls precisely into the category of exceptional circumstances it describes?"

"If there were Heartless, which I doubt – "

"You have heard from an eyewitness," Presea interrupted. "If you still doubt her truthfulness, call her back, question her again. I am sure she would not object."

"I – that – not – " blustered Admiral Kiel, fiddling with the papers before him. "It's – I want this over with today, Testarossa!"

"But naturally, you would not care how many times you heard from the witness, if the alternative was a serious miscarriage of justice," said Presea.

"Serious miscarriage, my ass!" said Admiral Kiel at the top of his voice. "Have you bothered to count the number of cock-and-bull stories this girl has come up with, Testarossa, while trying to cover up his flagrant misuse of magic out of school? I suppose you've forgotten the floating spell she used three years ago – "

"That wasn't me, it was a Twi'lek!" said Nanoha.

"YOU SEE?" roared Admiral Kiel, gesturing flamboyantly in Nanoha's direction. "A Twi'lek! On an Non-Administrated world! I ask you – "

"The Twi'lek in question is currently in the employ of St. Hilde Academy," said Presea. "I can summon her here in an instant to give evidence if you wish."

"I – not – I haven't got time to listen to Twi'leks! Anyway, that's not the only – she nearly killed her aunt using those monstrous powers of her, for Saint King's sake!" Admiral Kiel shouted, banging his fist on the judge's bench.

"And Admiral Leone kindly chose not to press charges on that occasion, accepting, I presume, that even the best mages cannot always control their emotions," said Presea calmly.

"And I haven't even started on what she gets up to at school – "

" – but as the Bureau has no authority to punish St. Hilde students for misdemeanors at school, Takamachi's behavior there is not relevant to this inquiry," said Presea, politely as ever, but now with a suggestion of coolness behind her words.

"Oho!" said Admiral Kiel. "Not our business what she does at school, eh? You think so?"

"The Bureau does not have the power to expel St. Hilde students, Largo, as Carim-sama reminded you on the night of the sixteenth of March," said Presea. "Nor does it have the right to confiscate Intelligent Devices until charges have been successfully proven, again, as Carim-sama reminded you on the night of the sixteenth of March. You have become so desperate in your attempt for a false conviction, Largo, that you have blatantly overlooked clearly defined laws within your own system. You truly are a sad, weak, and pathetic shell of a man, Largo Kiel. It's no wonder the populace begged Carim-sama to take your place when you were first appointed."

"You bitch!" said Admiral Kiel. "You don't know anything! Nanoha Takamachi is not without guilt! Laws can be changed!"

"Of course they can," said Presea, inclining her head. "And you certainly seem to be making many changes, Largo. Why, in the few short weeks since Carim-sama was asked to leave the Grand Magic Council, it has already become the practice to hold a full criminal trial to deal with a simple matter of underage magic."

A few of the mages above them shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Admiral Kiel turned a slightly deeper shade of puce. The bearlike man on his right, however, merely gazed at Presea, his face quite expressionless.

"As far as I am aware, however," Presea continued, "there is no law in place that says this court's job is to punish Takamachi for every bit of magic she has ever performed. She has been charged with a specific offense and she has presented her defense. All she and I can do now is await your verdict."

Presea put her fingertips together again and said no more.

"**I never thought I'd say this,**" said Raising Heart, "**but Presea is bad-ass!**"

Admiral Kiel glared at them, evidently incensed. Nanoha glanced sideways at Presea, seeking reassurance; she was not at all sure that Presea was right in telling, in effect, that it was about time they made a decision. Again, however, Presea seemed oblivious to Nanoha's attempt to catch her eye. She continued to look up at the benches where the entire Grand Magic Council had fallen into urgent, whispered conversations.

Nanoha looked at her feet. Her heart, which seemed to have swollen to an unnatural size, was thumping loudly under her ribs. She had not expected the hearing to last longer than this. She was not at all sure that she made a good impression. She had not really said very much. She ought to have explained more fully about the Heartless, about how she had fallen over, about how both she and Kenta had almost turned….

Twice she looked up at Admiral Kiel and opened her mouth to speak, but her swollen heart was now constricting her air passages and both times she merely took a deep breath and looked back at her shoes.

Then the whispering stopped. Nanoha wanted to look up at the judges, but found that it was really much, much easier to keep examining her feet.

"Those in favor of clearing the accused of all charges?" said Admiral Lowran's booming voice.

Nanoha's head jerked upward. There were hands in the air, many of them…more than half! Breathing very fast, she tried to count, but before she could finish Admiral Lowran had said, "And those in favor of conviction?"

Admiral Kiel raised his hand; so did half a dozen others, including the man on his right.

Admiral Kiel glanced around at them, looking as though there was something large stuck in his throat, then lowered his own hand. He took two deep breaths and then said, in a voice distorted by suppressed rage, "Very well, very well…cleared of all charges."

"Excellent," said Presea briskly, springing to her feet. "Well, I must be getting along. I was a pleasure to see you all again. Truly."

And without looking once at Nanoha, she swept from the dungeon.

* * *

><p><strong>BAM! Presea bringing the legal smack down on Largo Kiel and his council of stooges! Chalk another one up to a long list of Nanoha owing Presea her life. But even with the fear of her trial now over, Nanoha has still yet to face the worst this year has to offer. In the next chapter, two lucky students are met with a life-changing surprise, and Hayate takes the first step in discovering her own origins. What new challenges await the heroes as they get ready to enter their fifth year at St. Hilde? Will the TSAB simply allow this defeat to slide? And why was Presea at the Bureau in the first place? Find out on the next chapter of Fairy Tail!<strong>

**Please, read and review.**


	9. The Tome of the Night Sky

**Nanoha and the Fairy Tail**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
>Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter Nine: The Tome of the Night Sky<span>**

Presea's abrupt departure took Nanoha completely by surprise. She remained sitting where she was in the chained chair, struggling with her feelings of shock and relief. The Grand Magic Council were all getting to their feet, talking, and gathering up their papers and packing them away. Nanoha stood up. Nobody seemed to be paying her the slightest bit of attention except the bearlike man of Admiral Kiel's right, who was now gazing down at her instead of at Presea. Ignoring him, she tried to catch Admiral Kiel's eye, or Admiral Lowran's, wanting to ask whether she was free to go, but Admiral Kiel seemed quite determined not to notice Nanoha, and Admiral Lowran was busy with her briefcase, so she took a few tentative steps toward the exit and when nobody called her back, broke into a very fast walk.

She took the last few steps at a run, wrenched open the door, and almost collided with Zafira, who was standing right outside, looking pale and apprehensive.

"Presea didn't say – "

"Cleared," Nanoha said, pulling the door closed behind her, "of all charges!"

Beaming, Zafira seized Nanoha by the shoulders.

"Nanoha, that's wonderful! Well, of course, they couldn't have found you guilty, not on the evidence, but even so, I can't pretend I wasn't – "

But Zafira broke off, because the courtroom door had just opened again. The Grand Magic Council were filing out.

"Saint King," said Zafira wonderingly, pulling Nanoha aside to let them all pass, "you were tried by the full court?"

"I think so," said Nanoha quietly.

One or two of the passing mages nodded to Nanoha as they passed and a few, including Admiral Lowran, said, "Morning, Zafira,", but most averted their eyes. Largo Kiel and the bearlike man were almost the last to leave the dungeon. Admiral Kiel acted as though Zafira and Nanoha were part of the wall, but again, the bearlike man looked almost appraisingly at Nanoha as he passed. Last of all to pass was Chrono, carrying a large roll of paper under his arm. He stopped for a second to give Nanoha quick smile, silently congratulating her, then marched off after the admiral.

"I'm going to take you straight back so you can tell the others the good news," he said, beckoning Nanoha forward as Chrono's heels disappeared up the stairs. "I'll drop you off on the way to that assault charge East Zone 12. Come on…."

"What are you gonna do when you get there?" Nanoha asked, sounding very relieved. It was starting to sink in, _she was going back to St. Hilde._

"I might not have mentioned it before, but I'm actually a Faunus myself," said Zafira as they mounted the stairs, "as such, I have a great sense of smell and hearing. Tracking has always been my specialty in the Wolkenritter – it's why I became the Head so quickly. Once I get there, it's a simple matter of canvasing the area – "

Zafira broke off in mid-sentence. They had just reached the top of the stairs, and Admiral Kiel was standing a few feet away from them, talking quietly to a tall woman with shockingly light colored hair and a pointed, pale face.

The woman turned at the sound of their footsteps. She too broke in mid-conversation, her chilling blue eyes narrowed and fixed upon Nanoha's face.

"Well, well, well…the little White Devil," said Lord Dearche coolly.

Nanoha felt winded, as though she had just walked into something heavy. She had last seen those cool blue eyes wide with fear and that voice pleading forgiveness in the dark field on Earth before Stern knocked her unconscious. She could not believe that Dearche Eberwein dared look at her in the face; she could not believe that she was here, in the Time-Space Administration Bureau, or that Admiral Kiel was talking to her, when Nanoha had told Admiral Kiel mere months ago that Dearche was a Hellion.

"The admiral was just telling me about your lucky escape, Takamachi," drawled Lord Dearche. "Quiet astonishing, the way you always seem to slither you way out of trouble…"

Zafira gripped Nanoha's shoulder in warning.

"Yeah," said Nanoha, "yeah, I'm good at escaping…."

Dearche Eberwein raised his eyes to Zafira's face.

"And Zafira Yagami too! What are you doing here, Zafira?"

"I work here," said Zafira shortly.

"Not _here_, surely?" said Lord Dearche, raising her eyebrows and glancing towards the door over Zafira's shoulder. "I thought you were on the eleventh level…don't you do something that involves chasing after litterbugs and purse snatchers?"

"No," said Zafira curtly, his fingers now biting into Nanoha's shoulders.

"What are _you _doing here anyway?" Nanoha asked Dearche Eberwein.

"I don't think private matters between myself and the admiral are any concern of yours, Takamachi," said Lord Dearche, smoothing the front of her Jacket. "Really, just because you are Gracia's favorite girl, you must not expect the same indulgence from the rest of us….Shall we go up to your office, then, admiral?"

"Certainly," said Admiral Kiel, turning his back on Nanoha and Zafira. "This way, Lord Dearche."

They strode off together, talking in low voices. Zafira did not let go of Nanoha's shoulder until they had disappeared into the elevator.

"Why wasn't he waiting outside Admiral Kiel's office if they've got business to do together?" Nanoha burst out furiously. "What was she doing down here?"

"Trying to sneak down the courtroom, if you ask me," said Zafira, looking extremely agitated as he glanced over his shoulder as though making sure they could not be overheard. "Trying to find out whether you'd been expelled or not. I'll leave a note for Carim-sama when I drop you off, she ought to know Eberwein's been talking to Kiel again."

"What private business have they got together anyway?"

"Credits, I expect," said Zafira angrily. "Eberwein's been giving generously to all sorts of things for years….Gets her in with the right people…then she can ask favors…delay laws she doesn't want passed…oh, she's very well connected, Dearche Eberwein…."

The elevator arrived; it was empty except for a flock of memos that lapped around Zafira's head as he pressed the button for the atrium and the doors clanged shut; he waved them away irritably.

"Zafira," said Nanoha slowly, "if Admiral Kiel is meeting Hellions like Dearche, if he's seeing them alone, how do we know they haven't been put him under mind control?"

"Don't think it hadn't occurred to us, Nanoha," muttered Zafira. "But Carim-sama thinks Kiel is acting of his own accord at the moment – which, as Carim-sama says, is not a lot of comfort….Best not talk about it anymore just now, Nanoha…."

The doors slid open and they stepped out into the now almost deserted atrium. Eric the security man was hidden behind his Daily News again. They had walked straight past the golden fountain before Nanoha remembered.

"Hey, Zafira, know where I can exchange credits for coins," Nanoha asked him. "I'm feeling generous right now."

Once going through the currency exchange, Nanoha returned to the fountain holding her bag of coins. She looked up into the handsome knight, but up close, Nanoha thought he looked rather weak and foolish. The mage was wearing a vapid smile like a beauty contestant, and from what Nanoha knew of aliens and dragons, they were most unlikely to be caught staring this soppily at humans of any description. The Faunus looked rather pathetic by comparison. With a grin at the thought of what Blake Belladonna would say if she could see the statue of the Faunus, Nanoha turned her money bag upside down and emptied not just ten thousand credits worth, but a full one hundred thousand. Hey, she was feeling generous.

"**I know it's strange to bring this up now, but has anyone seen Scarlet?**" Raising Heart said.

"…Oh crap," Zafira moaned.

* * *

><p>"I knew it!" yelled Hayate, punching the air. "You always get away with stuff!"<p>

"They were bound to clear you," said Teana, who had looked positively faint with anxiety when Nanoha had entered the foyer and was now holding a shiking hand over her eyes. "There was no case against you, none at all…."

"Everyone seems quite relieved, though, considering that all knew I'd get off," said Nanoha, smiling. Shamal was wiping her face with her sleeve, Ginga collapsed in a chair with a loud sigh of relief, and Agito and Rein were doing a kind of war dance to a chant that went "_She got off, she got off, she got off – "_

"That's enough, settle down!" shouted Zafira, though he too was smiling. "Listen, Lady Satsuki, Dearche Eberwein was at the Bureau – "

"As we've been expect," said Lady Satsuki calmly.

"_She got off, she got off, she got off – _"

"Shut up, you two! Yes, we saw her talking to Kiel on level zero, then they went up to Kiel's office together."

"I might have been able to find out more if I hadn't been drowned in paperwork," said Arf, grimacing.

"I said I was sorry," Zafira mumbled.

"We knew this might happen, but not so soon," said Lady Satsuki. "Do not trouble yourselves; I will make certain that Gracia is aware."

"Well, I'd better get going, there's a poor Faunus in trouble in East Zone 12 that is in need of my help. Shamal, I'll be late. I'm covering for Gil, but Wendi might be dropping in for dinner – "

"_She got off, she got off, she got off – "_

"That's enough – Agito – Rein!" said Shamal, as Zafira left the foyer. "Nanoha dear, come and sit down, have some lunch, you hardly ate breakfast…."

Fate, Hayate, Teana, and Subaru sat themselves around Nanoha looking happier than they had done since she had first arrived at the Garden of Time, and Nanoha's feeling of giddy relief, which had been somewhat dented by her encounter with Dearche Eberwein, swelled again. Even Talon's constant snide remarks that she whispered into Nanoha's ears whenever she passed couldn't bring her down from this high.

"Never in my life would I ever admit this, but we should really be grateful to Presea," said Arf happily, now dishing great mounds of mashed potatoes onto everyone's plates.

"Yeah, she really pulled me out of the fire," said Nanoha. "She's been doing that a lot lately. I always thought she hated me."

And as she said this, the scar on her chest burned so badly that she clapped her hand to it.

"What's up?" said Fate, looking alarmed.

"Scar," Nanoha mumbled. "But it's nothing….It happens all the time now…"

None of the others had noticed a thing; all of them were now helping themselves to food while gloating over Nanoha's narrow escape; Agito and Rein were still singing. Fate looked rather anxious, but before she could say anything, Subaru said happily, "I bet Carim-sama turns up this evening to celebrate with us, you know."

"I highly doubt that she will be able to, Nakajima," said Lady Satsuki, graciously accepting a fresh cup of tea from her butler and taking in its fragrance. "Gracia is a very busy woman and has not time to deal trivial matters."

"_SHE GOT OFF, SHE GOT OFF, SHE GOT OFF – _"

"SILENCE!" Lady Satsuki commanded with a click of her heel.

* * *

><p>Over the next few days, Nanoha found herself daydreaming about St. Hilde more and more as the end of the holidays approached; she could not wait to see Schach, Erio, and Caro down at the shack, to play Riot Force with her team, even to stroll across the vegetable patches to the Environmental Studies greenhouses. It would be a treat just to leave the Garden of Time with its wide interior that made Nanoha feel small, its various hidden treasures that would try to poke her eyes out, and especially Talon as she wheezed insults out of the shadows as you passed, though Nanoha was careful not to say any of this within earshot of Fate. She didn't want to seem ungrateful.<p>

The fact was that living at the headquarters of the anti-Stern movement was not nearly as interesting or exciting as Nanoha would have expected before she'd experienced it. Though members of the Order of the Saint King came and went regularly, sometimes staying for meals, sometimes only for a few minutes' whispered conversation. Lady Satsuki always invited them to meetings, ignoring Shamal's protest, but it always seemed like they were withholding information for Nanoha's sake and nobody, not even Arf, seemed to feel that Nanoha needed to know anything more than she already knew.

On the very last day of the holidays Nanoha and Hayate were sweeping up their Fay's mess from the top of the wardrobe and Fate was reading the latest issue of Sorcerer Weekly when Subaru entered their bedroom carrying a few envelopes.

"Booklists have arrived," she said, throwing an envelope to each of them. "About time, I thought they'd forgotten, they usually come much earlier than this…."

Nanoha swept the last of the mess into a trash bag and threw the bag over Fate's head into the waste basket in the corner; it was then that Nanoha wondered why she never tried out for basketball. She then opened her letter: It contained two pieces of paper, one the usual reminder that term started on the first of April, the other telling her which books she would need for the coming year.

"Only two new ones," said Fate, reading the list. "_The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5, _by Evadine Caster and _Defensive Magical Theory _by Marquis De Sade.

Just then, Agito and Rein emerged from the Corridors right beside Nanoha. She was so used to them doing this by now that she didn't fall of the chair she was standing on.

"We were just wondering who assigned the De Sade book," said Agito conversationally.

"Because it means Carim-sama's found a new Tactical Combat Instructor," said Rein.

"And about time too," said Agito.

"What d'you mean?" Nanoha asked, jumping down beside them.

"Well, we overheard Zafira and Ginga talking on the Phantom Flies a few weeks back," Agito told Nanoha, "and from what they were saying, Carim-sama was having real trouble finding anyone to do the job this year."

"Not surprising, is it, when you look at what happened to the last few?" said Rein.

"One fired, one arrested, and I don't know what happened to Tsukishima, but I'm hoping he's dead," said Hayate, counting them off on her fingers. "All things considered, Jellal was the lucky one."

"What's wrong with you, Subaru," asked Fate.

Subaru did not answer. Nanoha looked around. Subaru was standing very still with her mouth slightly open, gaping at her letter from St. Hilde.

"What's the matter?" said Agito impatiently, moving around to look over her shoulder at the paper.

Agito's mouth fell open too.

"Knight?" she said, staring incredulously at the letter. "_Knight_?"

Rein leapt forward, seized the envelope in Subaru's other hand, and turned it upside down. Nanoha saw a black clothfall into Rein's open palm.

"No way," said Rein in a hushed voice.

"There's been a mistake," said Agito, snatching the letter out of Subaru's grasp and holding it up to the light as though checking for a watermark. "No one in their right mind would make Su-chan a Knight…."

"Well, that doesn't sound very nice," said Fate.

The twins' head turned in unison and both of them stared at Fate.

"We thought you were a cert!" said Agito in a tone that suggested Fate had tricked them in some way.

"We though Carim-sama was _bound _to pick you!" said Rein indignantly.

"Best mage in our year – hell, probably the best mage in the whole school!" said Agito.

"I won't say I'm not surpriosed, but I'm not upset about it," said Fate casually. "Clearly Carim-sama sees something better in Subaru than she does in me."

"I suppose all that insane stuff you three've been doing over the years counted against you," said Rein.

"Yeah," said Agito slowly. "Yeah, you've caused too much trouble. Well, at least you've got your priorities rights."

She strode over to Fate and clapped her on the back while giving Subaru a scathing look.

"_Knight…_Su-chan the knight…"

"Oh, Saint King, I think I'm going to be sick," groaned Rein, thrusting the knight band back at Subaru as though it might contaminate her.

Subaru, who still had not said a word, took the band, stared at it for a moment, and then held it out to Nanoha as though asking mutely for confirmation that it was genuine. Nanoha took it. A small, tightening cloth to be word around the arm with St. Hilde coat of arms. She had seen a band just like this on Signum's arm on her very first day at St. Hilde.

The door banged open. Teana came tearing into the room, her cheeks flushed and her hair flying. There was an envelope in her hand.

"Did you – did you get - ?"

She spotted the badge in Nanoha's hand and let out a shriek.

"I knew it!" she said excitedly, brandishing her letter. "Me too, Nanoha-san, me too!"

"Now _that_ I expected," said Hayate.

"No," said Nanoha quickly, pushing the band back into Subaru's hand. "It's Subaru, not me."

"It – what?"

"Subaru's knight, not me," Nanoha said.

"_Subaru_?" said Teana, her jaw dropping. "But…are you sure? I mean – "

She turned red as Subaru looked around at her with a defiant expression on her face.

"It's my name on the letter," she said.

"I…" said Teana, looking thoroughly bewildered. "I…well…wow! Well done, Subaru! That's really – "

"Unexpected," said Rein, nodding.

"No," said Teana, blushing harder than ever, "well, yes, actually. Of all the people in Kaiser, would you really trust Subaru with a big responsibility?"

"Hey…nah, you're right," Subaru admitted lamely.

The door behind her opened a little wider and Ginga backed into the room carrying a pile of fresh laundry.

"Vita said the booklists had come at last," she said, glancing around at all the envelopes as she made her way over to the bed and started sorting the clothes into separate piles. "If you give them to me I'll take them over to Cranagan this afternoon and get your books while you're packing. Subaru, I'll have to get you a new Jacket after you ripped the last one to shreds – Erza will be happy you are keeping her in business. Want anything added to it?"

"Maybe she'd like something to match her armband," said Rein, smirking.

"Match her what?" said Ginga absently, rolling up a pair of socks and placing on Hayate's pile.

"Her _armband_," said Agito, with the air of getting the worst over quickly. "Her lovely new _knight's armband._"

Agito's words took a moment to penetrate Ginga's preoccupation about jackets.

"Her…but…Subaru, you're not…?"

Subaru held up the band.

"I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Oh, Subaru, how wonderful! A knight! That makes three! Oh, wait until dad hears this! Wait until the girls hear this! Subaru, I'm so proud of you, what wonderful news, you could end up Lady Saint just like me and Cinque, it's the first step! Oh, what a thing to happen in the middle of all his worry, I'm just thrilled, oh Su-chan – "

Agito and Rein were both making loud retching noises behind her back but Ginga did not notice; her arms tight around Subaru, she was kissing her all over her face, which had turned a bright scarlet.

"Gin-nee…don't…Gin-nee, get a grip…." She muttered, trying to push her away.

She let go of her and said breathlessly, "So, what's it going to be. Cinque got a new dagger collection, but I really don't think you should near sharp objects."

"W-what do you mean?" said Subaru, looking as though she did not dare believe her ears.

"You've got to have a reward for this!" said Ginga fondly. "You're already getting a new Barrier Jacket, but that's out of necessity. You're not very fond of books…don't need anything for school…I've got it!" she added, snapping her fingers with a sudden epiphany. "Yes, that's it exactly! I'll have to go home and ask dad, but I'm sure he'll agree that you deserve it."

"Deserve what?" asked Subaru.

"Oh, you'll find out," said Subaru, smiling serenely. "I'll stop by our house before I go shopping. I'll see you all later….Su-chan, a knight! And don't forget to pack your luggage….A knight…oh, dad's going to be over the moon!"

She gave Subaru yet another kiss on the cheek and bustled from the room.

Agito and Rein exchanged looks.

"You don't mind if we don't kiss you, do you, Su-chan?" said Agito in a falsely anxious voice.

"We could curtsy, if you like," said Rein.

"Oh, shut up," said Subaru, scowling at them.

"Or what?" said Agito, an evil grin spreading across her face. "Going to put us in detention?"

"I'd love to see her try," sniggered Rein.

"She could if you don't watch out! Said Teana angrily, at which Agito and Rein burst out laughing.

"We're going to have to watch our step, Rein," said Agito, pretending to tremble, "with these two on our case…."

"Yeah, it looks like our law-breaking days are finally over," said Rein, shaking her head.

"**Should you really be making fun of the girl who can – quite literally – punch you to the moon?**" asked Raising Heart.

With one final laugh, the twins vanished in shadow and vapor.

"Those two!" said Teana furiously, staring up at the ceiling, through which they could now hear Agito and Rein roaring with laughter in the room upstairs. "Don't pay any attention to them, Subaru, they're only jealous."

"I don't think they are," said Hayate doubtfully, also looking up at the ceiling. "They've always said only losers become knights….Still," she added on a happier note, "how cool is it that we have not one, but two knights on our side. Imagine the kind of stuff we could get away with. I can finally start up my adult shop in the common room. I need to grab my collection."

She dashed out of the room, quick as a flash.

"Don't even think about it, Hayate-san!" Teana screamed, giving chase.

Well, I should go ahead and tell mother I didn't make Knight this year," Fate said with look of dread. "Mother is going to be so mad…"

She trudged out of the room, leaving Nanoha and Subaru alone.

For some reason, Nanoha found that she did not want to look at Subaru. She turned to the bed, picked up the pile of clean clothes Ginga had laid upon it, and crossed the room to her luggage.

"Nanoha-san?" said Subaru tentatively.

"Well done," said Nanoha, so heartily it did not sound like her voice at all, and still not looking at her. "Brilliant. Perfect. Great."

"Thanks," said Subaru. "Er – Nanoha-san – could I borrow Lucy for a moment. Natsu is out and I want to send letters to my sisters. They'd be so happy, knowing I made knight – "

"Yeah, no problem," said Nanoha, still in the horrible hearty voice that did not belong to her. "Take her!"

She leaned over her trunk, laid the clothes on the bottom of it, and pretended to be rummaging for something while Subaru crossed to the wardrobe and called Lucy down. A few moments passed; Nanoha heard the door close but remained bent double, listening; Subaru's footsteps became fainter as they walked down the stairs until everything went silent. Nanoha straightened up and returned slowly to the bed and sank on it, gazing unseeingly at the foot of the wardrobe.

She had completely forgotten about knights being chosen in the fifth year. She had been too anxious about the possibility of being expelled to spare a thought for the fact that bands must be winging their way toward certain people. But if she _had _remembered…if she _had _thought about it…what would she have expected?

_Not this_, said a small and truthful voice inside her head.

Nanoha screwed up her face and buried it in her hands. She could not lie to herself; if she had known the knight band was on its way, she would have expected it to come to her, not Subaru. Did this make her as arrogant as Yuri Eberwein? Did she think herself superior to everyone else? Did she really believe she was _better _than Subaru?

_No_, said the small voice defiantly.

Was that true? Nanoha wondered, anxiously probing her own feelings.

_I'm better at Riot Force,_ said the voice. _But I'm not better at anything else._

That was definitely true, Nanoha thought; she was no better than Subaru in lessons, especially in Tactical Combat Instruction. But what about outside lessons. What about those adventures they had together since they started at St. Hilde, often risking much worse than expulsion.

_Well, Subaru and Teana have been with me a lot of times,_ said the voice in Nanoha's head.

_Not all the time, though_, Nanoha argued with herself. _They didn't fight Envy with me. They didn't take on Nel and Nette Stroder. They didn't get rid of all those Heartless the night we found Arf. They weren't in that field with me, the night Stern returned…._

And the same feeling of ill-usage had overwhelmed her on the night she had arrived rose again. _I've definitely done more, _Nanoha thought indignantly. _I've done more than any of them!_

_But maybe, _said the small voice fairly, _maybe Carim-sama doesn't choose knights because they've got themselves into a load of dangerous situations….Maybe she chooses them for other reasons….Subaru must have something you don't…._

Nanoha opened her eyes and stared through her fingers at the wardrobe's clawed feet, remembering what Agito said.

"No one in their right mind would make Su-chan a Knight…."

Nanoha gave a small snort of laughter. A second later she felt sickened with herself.

Subaru had not asked Carim to give her the knight band. This was not Subaru's fault. Was she, Nanoha Takamachi, Subaru's friend and role model, going to sulk because she didn't have a band, laugh with the twins behind Subaru's back, ruin this for Subaru when, for the first time, she had beaten Nanoha at something?

At this point Nanoha heard Subaru's footsteps on the stairs again. She stood up and hitched a grin onto her face as Subaru bounded back through the door.

"Just sent them!" she said happily. "Lucy didn't look to happy carrying so many letter, but I wanted to tell them everything."

"Cool," Nanoha said, and she was relieved to hear that her voice had stopped sounding hearty. "Listen – Subaru – well done."

The smile faded off Subaru's face.

"I never thought it would be me!" she said, shaking her head. "I thought it would be Fate. Or at least you."

"**At least?**" Raising Heart repeated questionably.

"Nah, I've caused too much trouble," Nanoha said.

"Yeah," said Subaru, "yeah, I suppose….Well, we'd better get our baggage packed, hadn't we?"

It was odd how widely their possessions seemed to have scattered themselves since they had arrived. It took them most of the afternoon to retrieve their books and belongings from all over the manor and stow them back inside their trunks. Nanoha noticed that Subaru kept moving her knight band around, first placing it on the bedside table, then putting it into her pocket, then taking it out and laying it on her folded clothes. Only when Agito and Rein dropped in and offered to glue it to her forehead did she wrap it tenderly in her coat and lock it in her bag.

Ginga returned from Cranagan around six o'clock, laden with books and carrying a large, square package wrapped in thick brown paper that Subaru took from her.

"Sorry I didn't have time to wrap it better, but I was pressed for time," said Ginga.

Subaru carefully unwrapped her present, opened the lid to the box underneath, and her eyes went wide as dinner plates, suddenly becoming misty as if about to cry but was holding herself back. Nanoha craned her head to get a better look at what was inside.

It was a Device that looked exactly like Subaru's Revolver Knuckle except that the base was white and purple in contrast to Subaru's black and blue color scheme and the hand was clearly designed for the left hand.

"This…this is…but I can't…" Subaru stammered, her lip trembling.

"You can; you deserve it," Ginga said smiling. "I don't really use it anymore in my profession and it would be a shame to let it just sit there and collect dust, so I thought to myself, if anyone deserved to have it, it should be you."

"Subaru and Ginga's devices used to belong to their mother," Teana whispered to Nanoha as Subaru tackled her sister to the ground, bawling loudly. "After their she died, each of them got one of her Revolver Knuckles. It's very special to them."

Relocating themselves in the foyer Shamal had hung a white banner over a heavily laden dinner table, which read CONGRATULATIONS SUBARU AND TEANA – NEW KNIGHTS. She looked in a better mood than Nanoha had seen her all holiday.

"I thought we'd have a little party, not a sit down dinner," she told Nanoha, Fate, Hayate, Teana, Subaru, and Gina as they came down the stairs. "Cinque, Dieci, and Nove just arrived, Subaru. Your father and Wendi are on their way. They are so _thrilled_ for you. I wish our family would make the same effort."

Agito rolled her eyes.

Plenty of the Order members were attending including Arf, Harribel, Jellal, Yuuno, and Gil Graham. Nanoha was just getting some punch when she almost ran into a long-haired man with _really _white eyes.

"Oh, Neji, I am glad you're here," said Shamal brightly, walking over to the white-eyed man. "We've been wanting to ask you for ages – could you have a look in the writing desk in the drawing room and tell us what's inside it? We haven't wanted to open it just in case it's something really nasty."

"Not at all, Shamal-san…"

Neji clapped his hand together and yelled "Byakugan!"; thick veins formed spider web patterned around his eyes, which Nanoha thought was really disgusting.

"Drawing room…" he said. "Desk in the corner? Yeah, I see it….Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous, I don't believe. Looks like a book bound in chains….It's shaking rather fiercely."

"So that's where it went?" Hayate shouted, suddenly appearing at Nanoha's side.

"You know something about this?" Shamal questioned suspiciously.

"It's my Unison Device – you know, the Tome of the Night Sky," said Hayate. "It's been acting weird recently; blizzards in the bedroom, setting fire to the pool, storms in the bathroom – you know how hard it is to do your business when you have a lightning cloud over your head? I had to chain it up to stop it from doing any more damage. I lost it when we first came here. I don't know why, but I get the feeling Talon might have stolen it and locked it in the desk."

"Be sure to go upstairs later, Hayate," said Shamal beaming. "Wouldn't want anything to ruin Subaru and Teana's special day. School knights! Isn't that wonderful?"

Genya and Wendi Nakajima arrived minutes later shouting praised for the youngest Nakajima and Wendi even lifted her sister off the ground in a hug. Shamal was in such a good mood she didn't even complain that they had brought Argit with them too; he was wearing a large overcoat that seemed oddly lumpy in unlikely places and declined the offer to remove it.

"Well, I think a toast is in order," said Genya, when everyone had a drink. He raised his glass. "To Subaru and Teana, the new Kasier knights!"

Teana and Subaru beamed as everyone drank to them and then applauded.

"I was never a knight myself," said Nove brightly from behind Nanoha as everybody moved toward the table to help themselves to food. "My Head of House said I lacked certain necessary qualities."

"Like what?" said Vita, who was choosing a baked potato.

"Like the ability to behave myself," said Nove.

Vita laughed; Teana looked as though she did not know whether to smile or not and compromised by taking an extra large gulp of her drink and choking on it.

"Hey, Harribel, was dad a knight by any chance?" Nanoha asked, thumping Teana on the back.

Harribel, who was right beside Nanoha, let out an unnaturally loud laugh that caused many to stare.

"Shiro Takamachi, a knight? No one in their right mind would make him a knight; spent too much time in detention with Mimi. Yuuno was the good boy, he got the armband."

"I think Crowbel might have hoped that I would be able to exercise some control over my best friends," said Yuuno. "I need scarcely say that I failed dismally."

Nanoha's mood suddenly lifted. Her father had not been a knight either. All at once the party seemed uch more enjoyable; she loaded up her plate, feeling unusually fond of everyone in the room.

Subaru was rhapsodizing about her new addition to her Device to anyone who would listen.

"…just one of them was super powerful, but having both pretty much makes me unstoppable. Gin-nee once said that mom knocked down and entire skyscraper with one punch. I think she might have been exaggerating, but how cool would that be?

Teana was talking very earnestly to Harribel about her view on human-hollow relations.

"I know Hollows can be dangerous if they are in their lowest state of mind, but the brighter ones might not be so bad. You're living proof of that…"

Nanoha saw Agito and Rein, who were huddled in a corner with Argit. Argit stopped talking when he saw Nanoha, but Agito winked and beckoned Nanoha closer.

"It's okay," she told Argit, "we can trust Nanoha, she's our financial backer."

"Look what Argit's gotten us," said Rein, holding out her hand to Nanoha. It was full of what looked like polished red marbles. A faint rattling noise was coming from them, even though they were stationary.

"Condensed Life Fibers," said Rein. "We need them for the Sick Patches but they're a Class C Non-Tradable Substance so we've been having a bit of trouble getting hold of them."

Ten thousand credits for the lot of them, Argit," said Agito.

"With all the trouble I went through to get them?" said Argit, his beady, bloodshot eyes stretching even wider. "Nuh-uh, no way! I'm not selling anything under twenty."

"Argit likes his little joke," Agito said to Nanoha.

"Yeah, his best one so far has been six hundred for a bag of Rovannain circuits," said Rein.

"Be careful," Nanoha warned them quietly.

"What?" said Agito. "Shamal's busy cooing over the tiny knights, we're okay."

"But that Neji guy could have his eyes on you," Nanoha pointed out. "Bet he wouldn't wait to rat you guys out to Wendi."

Argit looked nervously over his shoulder.

"Good point, then," he grunted. "All right, ten it is, if you'll take them."

"Cheers, Nanoha!" said Agito delightedly, when Argit had emptied his pockets into the twins' outstretched hands and scuttled off toward the food. "We'd better get these upstairs…."

Nanoha watched them go, feeling slightly uneasy. It had just occurred to her that Zafira and Shamal would want to know how Agito and Rein were financing their mechanic shop business when, as was inevitable, they finally found out about it. Giving the twins her Grand Magic Games winnings had seemed a simple thing to do at the time, but what if it led to another fight and a Signum-like estrangement? Would Shamal still feel that Nanoha was as good as family if she found out she had made it possible for Agito and Rein to start a career in building machines for mischief?

Standing where the twins had left her with nothing but a guilty weight in the pit of her stomach for company, Nanoha caught the sound of her own name. Gil Graham's deep voice was audible even over the surrounding chatter.

"Why didn't Carim make Takamachi a knight?" said Graham.

"She'll have had her reasons," replied Harribel.

"But it would've shown confidence in her. It's what I'd have done," persisted Graham, "especially with the Daily News having a go at her every few days…."

Nanoha did not look around; she did not want Harribel or Graham to know she had heard. She followed Argit back toward the table, though not remotely hungry. Her pleasure in the party had evaporated as quickly as it had come; she wished she were upstairs in bed.

Hayate had the same idea; she yawned widely behind her hand.

"Well, I think I'll go get my book before I go to bed….Don't you guys have too much fun without me. Night, everyone."

She marched up the stairs out of sight. Nanoha set down her plate and wondered whether she could follow her without attracting attention.

"I've been wondering something," she heard Teana saying to Shamal. "Where'd Hayate-san get a Unison Device in the first place? They are super rare; you can't find them in a store."

"We're not entirely sure," Shamal replied. "She had it since she arrived at the Orphanage. Maybe it was something left from her parents?"

"You all right, Nanoha?" Yuuno asked, appearing at her left.

"Yeah, fine," lied Nanoha.

Yuuno took a swig of his drink, his eyes staring sideways at Nanoha.

"Come here, I've got something that might interest you," he said.

From an inner pocket of his coat Yuuno pulled a very tattered old photograph.

"Original Order of the Saint King," said Yuuno. "Found it last night when I was organizing the book in the library – my personal library, not the one at St. Hilde, mind you….Thought people might like to see it."

Nanoha took the photograph. A small crowd of people looked back up at her.

"There's me," said Yuuno unnecessarily, pointing to himself. The Yuuno in the picture was unmistakable, though his hair was shorter and he wasn't wearing glasses. "And there's Carim-sama beside me, Edward Elric on the other side…that's Lord Shinigami, he died when his son took over the DWMA. And that's Quint and Genya Nakajima – "

Nanoha's stomach, already uncomfortable, clenched as she looked at Quint Nakajima; she knew her round friendly face very well, even though she had never met her, because bared a striking resemblance to her daughters, Ginga and Subaru.

"Poor Quint," said Yuuno. "I can't imagine how Genya and the girls must have felt when they lost her…and that's Professor Ozpin, you've met him already, and that there's Presea, obviously…Ragyo Kiryuin, she's the one who betrayed the Order, luckily her daughters got to her before Carim-sama could.

"That's Griffith Lowran…son of Leti Lowran, he's working in the Capital Air Force, he's a great man…Jella Fernandes, Saint King, he was young back then…Raven Branwan, Yang's mother, she vanished six months after this, we don't know if she's alive or dead…Schach, of course, you hardly ever see Carim-sama without her trailing behind…Gil Graham, I'd forgotten he used to wear that stupid hat…Angeal Hewley, it took thirty Hellions to kill him and Genesis, they fought like heroes…

"That's Carim-sama's half-brother, Verossa Acous, he's always wearing those fancy suits…That's Avatar Aang, Stern personally dealt with him…Benjamin Parker, killed by a burglar of all things…and…there you go, thought that would interest you!"

Nanoha's heart turned over. Her mother and father were beaming up at her, sitting on either side of a tall, fiery-haired woman Nanoha recognized at once as Mimi Kemono: she was her father's best friend and mother of her half-sister, Arf. Nanoha also remember that Mimi had died years ago and Arf was put in jail for it.

"Eh?" said Yuuno.

Nanoha looked up into Yuuno's face. Evidently Yuuno was under the impression he had just given Nanoha a bit of a treat.

"Yeah," said Nanoha, attempting to grin again. "Er…listen, I've just remembered, I hadn't packed my…"

She was spared the trouble of inventing an object she had not packed; Arf had just said, "What's that you've got there, Uncle Yuuno," and Yuuno had turned toward her. Nanoha crossed the foyer and slipped up the stairs before anyone could call her back.

She did not know why she had received such a shock; she had seen her family's pictures, before, after all…but to have them sprung on her like that, when she was least expecting it…no one would like that, she thought angrily….

And then, to see them surrounded by all those other happy faces…Benjamin Parker, who had been murdered by a burglar, and Angeal Hewley, who had died like a hero, and Quint Nakajima, who had been tortured to death…all smiling happily out of the photograph forevermore, not knowing that they were doomed….Well, Yuuno might find that interesting…she, Nanoha, found it disturbing….

Nanoha tiptoed up the stairs past the hall to the second floor, glad to be on her own again, but as she approached the third landing she heard noises. Someone was sobbing in the drawing room.

"Hello?" Nanoha said.

There was no answer but the sobbing continued. She climbed the remaining stairs two at a time, walked across the landing, and opened the drawing-room door.

She found Hayate kneeling in the middle of the room, tears dripping down her pale face, with the Tome of the Night Sky open in front of her. Ripping through the pages of the Unison Device were a dozen threads of black string, pinning Hayate's arm's to her side to stop her from flailing and a few more connecting to her forehead like wires. Hayate's eyes were milky white, but they were moving back and forth in a panic.

Nanoha suddenly felt like the wind had been knocked out of her; how had things gotten so bad in only a few minutes. She didn't consider going back downstairs and calling for help from someone more experience; the only thing she could think of was helping Hayate.

"Raising Heart!" Nanoha yelled, charging inside the drawing room.

"**Exelion Mode!**" said Raising Heart.

Raising Heart's spearhead flashed through the air in a glint of gold, slashing through the black strings with relative ease. Hayate gasped as the threads fell away; her eyes regaining color. The Tome of the Night Sky pulled back the remains of its fibered chains and closed its covers with a loud _snap, _falling uselessly to the side.

Nanoha took a deep breath, watching the book; it remained still. She turned to Hayate, who only now became aware that Nanoha was in the room and stared back at her, tear still running along her cheekbones and making dark circles on the fine carpet.

"Hayate-chan," said Nanoha softly, walking over to her, "Hayate-chan, are you…?"

Next second she was sobbing her heart out on Nanoha's shoulder.

"Hayate-chan, it's okay, I'm here," she said soothingly, patting her on the back. "What happened? Did it hurt you?"

"N-no, it's just…," Hayate moaned into her shoulder, "it's just that…it showed me things…thing I haven't thought about since I was a baby. Nanoha-chan…I think…I think it showed me my parents…"

"You're parents? Are you sure?" Nanoha asked, utterly perplexed.

Everyone in the Yagami family were orphans who had been dropped off at their home for one reason or another; some were sent because they parents died in the last war, some were sent because their parents were unsuited to raise them, and others were just simply abandoned because their parents couldn't deal with them anymore. Nanoha could understand why Hayate would react to the idea of seeing her parents; her past was an utter mystery. No home, no parents, no records - Hayate had simply been left at the Orphanage's doorstep and that was it.

"I…I don't know," Hayate was gulping now, mopping her eyes frantically with her cuffs. "I didn't see their faces…it was more like a dream than a memory...but…I just can't help it…this feeling in my chest…telling me that it was definitely them. You must think I'm being stupid."

"Not at all," said Nanoha. "Remember back in the first year? When I found the Hogyoku that showed me my family? I was obsessed with that think that it almost took over my life. I can understand why you're so shaken up by this."

"…can you keep a secret, Nanoha?" Hayate asked.

"Considering everyone else is keeping them from me, sure," said Nanoha.

"I'm always thinking about my parents," said Hayate. "Shamal and the others are great and everything, but I've always wondered who I really am and where I came from. The only thing I have to connect with them is the Tome of the Night Sky," she added, picking up the book delicately. "It's not acting up anymore. I wonder if the reason it was acting so funny was because it wanted to show me that."

"Well, that's good, right?" said Nanoha, trying to smile. "That must mean your parents left it for you so that you could find them when you're older. Maybe if you keep looking through it, you might find out who your parents are."

"Maybe…," Hayate mumbled, cautiously opening the Tome and flipping through the pages. "A lot of its pages are blank, so I'm guessing there's some secrets I still need to figure out….Honestly…I'm afraid of what will happen when I do."

"What do you mean?" Nanoha asked.

"What if my parents don't want me?" said Hayate. "What if the reason they left me was because they didn't love me?"

"That's can't be – "

"But what if it is!" Hayate yelled. "What if I meet them one day and they don't want anything to do with me? What am I supposed to do then? I'm scared, Nanoha. I scared of what I might find if I solve the answer to this book; find out that they never wanted me in the first place. I can't go through that…not again…not after Signum…."

Hayate closed the Tome and held it tightly to her chest, shaking. Nanoha stood watching her, wondering what she should say. That her parents might not have wanted to give her up? That Signum will eventually see her error and come back to them? But even in her head, those words didn't sound sincere.

Saying nothing, Nanoha grabbed Hayate and pulled her close, wrapping her in a tight embrace.

"Even if you parents don't want you, I do, Hayate-chan," Nanoha whispered softly. "And I promise, no matter what happens, I will never leave you."

"…Thank you, Nanoha," Hayate muttered.

Ten minutes later, Nanoha returned to the shared bedroom after leaving Hayate alone with her thoughts in the drawing room. She could still see her parent's beaming up at her from the tattered old photograph, unaware that their lives, like so many of those around them, were drawing to a close. The image of Hayate sitting alone with her book pressed against her chest kept flashing before her eyes.

Without warning, the scar on her chest seared with pain again and her stomach churned horribly.

"Cut it out," she said firmly, rubbing the scar as the pain receded again.

"You know the first sign of madness is talking to yourself."

Nanoha's head shot up and looked around. The room of empty, but Nanoha knew what she had heard. It was a voice that she had known intimately for a time; a voice that she could still hear in her sweetest dreams and darkest nightmares.

"Alicia…" Nanoha muttered.

Only silence filled the room.

* * *

><p><strong>It may not be my best chapter yet, but I feel somewhat proud of how the Nanoha-Hayate moment turned out. Now that Hayate has caught a glimpse of her secret history, it's only a matter of time before everything comes to light. In the next chapter, Nanoha and the gang finally return to St. Hilde and meet a mysterious newcomer that puts everyone on edge. Is this new character a friend or a foe? Will Hayate uncover the secrets behind the mysterious Tome of the Night Sky? Will St. Hilde fall into anarchy under Subaru's watch? Most likely. To find out, stay tuned for the next thrilling chapter of the Fairy Tail!<strong>

**Please, read and review.**

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><p><strong>~Nanoha's Corner~<strong>

**#1: The Great Galactic Tragedy**

Hayate panted hard as she slammed the secret door behind her, waiting and listening. She could hear Teana's footsteps getting louder as she came close and Hayate prayed to whatever god that she wouldn't be found. Her prayers were heard as Teana's footsteps became softer until she couldn't hear anything at all; it sounded like she had gone downstairs. Hayate let out a relieved sigh.

"That was a close one," said Hayate, walking over to her secret cabinet in her secret room. "She almost found my precious collection."

Hayate pulled back the doors and stepped back as an avalanche of magazines fell at her feet. But not just any magazines. These were the hottest, sexiest, most raunchy magazines you could find in the entire galaxy. A treasure trove of perverted delight that Hayate had been secretly collecting in the last seven years, secretly skipping off to Cranagan under the cover of night, trading sexy photos of her sisters to obtain them. Shamal and Signum were always the most popular.

Hayate's giggled in her usual perverted tone as she picked up the latest issue of Playmage, practically drool.

"Life doesn't get any better than this," said Hayate, giggling.

Hayate opened the magazine…and came face-to-face with a certain tiny, purple-haired ninja. Hayate began to sweat as the assassin of Log Horizon glared daggers at her.

"Uh…hey, Akatsuki-chan…how's it going?" Hayate mumbled nervously.

Meanwhile, in the room below them, Lady Satsuki was holding a meeting with some of the more intellectual members of the Order, including Guild Master Shiroe of Log Horizon.

"And that is why we will NOT be having casual Fridays," said Lady Sastuki.

All of a sudden, a piercing unearthly scream roared through the ceiling, shaking the chandelier, making everyone jump out of their seats and stare upwards. A moment later, Akatsuki materialized into the room, kneeling on the table so that she would be at eye level with her superior.

"My lord, may I burn that lecherous pervert's assortment of filthy literature?" she asked politely with a sparkle in her eye.

"Uh…" said Shiroe, having no idea how to respond.


	10. Tokaku Azuma

**Nanoha and the Fairy Tail**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
>Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators<strong>

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><p><strong><span>Chapter Ten: Tokaku Azuma<span>**

Nanoha had a troubled night's sleep. Her parents wove in an out of her dreams, never speaking; Hayate sobbed on the floor wrapped in chains watched by Teana and Subaru, who were wearing crowns, Alicia's voice echoed like a haunting song, and yet again Nanoha found herself walking down a corridor ending in a locked door. She awoke abruptly with her scar prickling to find Hayate, Teana, and Subaru already dressed and talking to her.

"…better hurry up, Shamal's going ballistic, she says we're going to miss the ship…."

There was a lot of commotion in the manor. From what she heard as she dressed at top speed, Nanoha gathered that Agito and Rein had bewitched their luggage to fly downstairs to save the bother of carrying them, with the result that they hurtled straight into Vita and knocked her down two flights of stairs into the foyer; Shamal could be heard from downstairs screaming at the top of her voice.

" – COULD HAVE DONE HER A SERIOUS INJURY, YOU IDIOTS – "

Fate came hurrying into the room looking flustered just as Nanoha pulled up her skirt; she was carrying a squirming Scarlet in her arms.

"Wow, I didn't think Shamal's face could turn that color," she said. "Everyone ready to go?"

"Nearly – Vita all right?" Nanoha asked.

"Shamal's patched her up," said Fate. "But now Jellal's complaining that we can't leave unless Eric Brooks is here, otherwise the guard will be one short."

"Guard?" said Nanoha. "We have to go to Coastal Airport 8 with a guard?"

"_You_ have to go to Coastal Airport 8 with a guard," Teana corrected her.

"Why?" said Nanoha irritably. "I thought Stern was supposed to be lying low or are you telling me she's going to jump out from behind a trashcan to try and do me in."

Then again, it wasn't out of the possibility; Stern had demonstrated the ability to freeze time so that they could communicate privately, but Nanoha wasn't about to tell them that. Nanoha wasn't even sure that Stern was still following her; she hadn't received any letters from Nette Stroder since that night Nanoha was told she was going to be expelled. Nanoha wasn't certain if she should be happy or sad about that.

"We don't know, it's just what Jellal says," said Fate distractedly, looking at her watch. "But if we don't leave soon, we're definitely going to miss the ship…."

"WILL YOU GIRLS GET DOWN HERE NOW, PLEASE!" Shamal bellowed and Fate jumped as though scalded and hurried out of the room. Nanoha seized Lucy, stuffed her unceremoniously into her cage, and set off downstairs after Fate, dragging her bags.

"Nanoha, you're to come with me and Wendi," said Shamal. "Leave your bags and your Fay, Jellal's going to deal with the luggage. Stick close to Wendi at all times, you hear? All right, let's go."

She wretched open the front doors and stepped out into the weak April sunlight. Nanoha, Scarlet, and the girls followed her.

Where's Wendi?" Nanoha said, looking around as they walked the cobblestone path of the House of Testarossa, which vanished the moment they walked past the gates.

"She's waiting for us just up here," said Shamal stiffly, averting her eyes from Scarlet, who had bounded out of Fate's arms.

An old woman greeted them on the corner. She had tightly curled gray hair and wore a purple hat shaped like a porkpie.

"How's it goin', Nanoha?" she said, winking.

"Whoa, Wendi, is that you?" Nanoha said impressed. "I didn't even recognize you."

"A good Enforcer knows how to work a disguise," said Wendi, checking her watch. "Better hurry up, hadn't we, Shamal?"

"I know, I know," moaned Shamal, lengthening her stride, "but Jellal wanted to wait for Blade….If only Zafira could have got us cars from the Bureau again…but Kiel wouldn't let him borrow so much as an empty bottle of water these days….

But the tiny red dog gave a joyful bark and gamboled around them, snapping at pigeons, and chasing her own tail. Nanoha couldn't help laughing. Arf was rarely allowed to leave the manor these days in fear that Stern's forces might recognize her, but now she was going to St. Hilde with them, where she could run freely under Carim careful eye. Though Shamal pursed her lips in an almost Aunt Kurima-ish way.

It took them twenty minutes to reach Coastal Airport 8 by monorail and nothing more eventful happened during that time than Scarlet scaring a couple of cats for Nanoha's entertainment. Once inside the airport, they strode quickly towards the barrier that only allowed those with Linker Cores to pass through and arrived where the _Arthra _prepared for takeoff over a hanger packed with departing students and their families. Nanoha inhaled the familiar smells and felt her spirits soar….She was really going back….

"I hope the others make it in time," said Shamal anxiously, staring behind her through the silver arch spanning the hanger, through which new arrivals would come.

"Good ta see ya, Devil!" called a violet-haired girl. "Looking forward to seeing you on the field!"

"Thanks, Anko," said Nanoha, grinning.

"Oh good," said Shamal, sounding relieved, "here's Jellal with the luggage, look…"

Head covered in a tall, navy cloak, Jellal came rushing through the archway pushing a cart full of their bags.

"All okay," he muttered to Shamal and Nove. "Don't think we were followed…."

Seconds later, Zafira emerged into the hanger with Fate, Hayate, Teana, and Subaru in tow. They had almost unloaded Jellal's luggage cart when Agito, Rein, and Vita turned up with Yuuno.

"No trouble?" asked Jellal.

"Nothing," said Yuuno.

"I'll still be reporting Brooks to Lady Satsuki," said Jellal. "That's the second time he's not turned up in a week. Getting as unreliable as Argit."

"Well, look after yourselves," said Yuuno, shaking hands all around. He reached Nanoha last and gave her a clap on the shoulder. "You too, Nanoha. Be careful."

"Yeah, keep your head down and your eyes peeled," said Jellal, shaking Nanoha's hand too. "And don't forget, all of you – careful what you put in writing. If in doubt, don't put it in a letter at all."

"It's been great meeting all of you," said Wendi, hugging Fate and Hayate. "We'll see you soon, I expect."'

A warning siren sounded; the students still in the hanger started hurrying up the ramp to the _Arthra_.

"Quick, quick," said Shamal distractedly, hugging them at random and catching Nanoha twice. "Write….Be good….If you've forgotten anything we'll send it on….Onto the ship, now, hurry…."

"See you!" Nanoha called out as she ran up the raising platform as the _Arthra _stared to move, while Hayate, Fate, Teana, Subaru, and Vita waved beside her. Wendi, Yuuno, Jellal, Zafira, and Shamal waved back until the ramp hissed shut and the _Arthra _lurched forward; the ship had left the hanger and was already on its way towards St. Hilde.

"Anyone else feel that the bodyguard were a huge waste of time?" said Hayate. "What were they expecting? A brigade of Hellions were gonna jump out in the middle of a crowded street in broad daylight?"

"Jellal seemed to think so," said Nanoha.

"Give the man a break," said Teana. "He's just worried about us is all."

"More like paranoid," said Hayate.

"Well," said Agito, clapping her hands together, "can't stand around chatting all day, we've got business to discuss with Anko. See you later," and she and Rein disappeared down the hallway to the right.

The _Arthra _was gathering more speed, so that the buildings outside the round windows flashed past and they swayed where they stood.

"Shall we go and find our rooms, then?" Nanoha asked.

Teana and Subaru exchanged looks.

"Er," said Subaru.

"We're – well – Subaru and I are supposed to go into the knight lounge," Teana said awkwardly.

Subaru wasn't looking at Nanoha; she seemed to have become intensely interested in the fingernails on her left hand.

"Oh," said Nanoha. "Right. Fine."

"I don't think we'll have to stay there all journey," said Teana quickly. "Our letters said we get instructions from the Lord and Lady Saints and then patrol the hallways from time to time."

"Fine," said Nanoha again. "Well, I – I guess we'll be seeing you later, then."

"Yeah, definitely," said Subaru, casting a shifty, anxious look at Nanoha, then at Hayate. "It's a pain having to go down there, I'd rather – but we have to – I mean, I'm not enjoying it, I'm not like Signum," she finished defiantly.

"No one was saying you are," said Hayate and she grinned, throwing her arm around Nanoha's neck. "Don't worry, she's still got us. Go, do whatever it is you guys do, and we'll catch you later."

But as Teana and Subaru dragged their luggage off toward the opposite end of the ship, Nanoha felt an odd sense of loss. She couldn't remember a time when all five of them weren't together on the _Arthra_.

"Come on," Fate told her, "we still have to find our room before we worry about them. Luckily, we all got the same cabin again this year."

"In case you haven't noticed, we get the same cabin every year," Hayate pointed out.

Nanoha, picking up Lucy's cage in one hand and the handle of her baggage in the other, treaded slowly down the hall behind Hayate and Fate. Vita separated from them at the first interaction, having been assigned a cabin with the other fourth years. They struggled off down the hallway, peering through the glass-paneled doors into the cabins they passed, looking for the numbers on their tickets. Nanoha couldn't help noticing that a lot of people stared back at her with great interest and that several of them nudged their neighbors and pointed her out. After she had met this behavior in five consecutive halls she remembered that the Daily News had been telling its readers all summer what a lying show-off she was. She wondered bleakly whether people now staring and whispering believed the stories.

They found their cabin at the very end of the last hall. Fate reached out and grabbed the handle, but didn't open the door; her whole body had suddenly gone rigid, as if she were expecting the room to explode the moment she opened the door. And in Nanoha's five years at St. Hilde, she wouldn't be surprised.

"What's up?" asked Hayate. "You need to use the toilet?"

"No – wait, what?" Fate sputtered. "Why is that the first thing that pops into you head?"

"I think what Hayate-chan means to say is," said Nanoha, slapping her hand over Hayate's mouth before she could speak, "you look worried. Everything all right in there."

"I don't know," said Fate, peeking through the window. "There's only one person inside…but I can't shake this uneasy feeling. Like an enormous amount of suppressed bloodlust."

"You're imagining thing," said Hayate, who had squeezed past Fate to peer into the cabin. "It's just one girl reading a magazine. There's nothing wrong with that."

Fate mumbled something unintelligible until her breath as Hayate slid the door open and pulled her trunk inside. Nanoha and Fate followed.

"Hey, roomie," said Hayate. "You don't mind if we barge in, do you?"

The girl beside the window looked up. She had short, straggly, deep-blue hair, very thin eyebrows , and viciously sharp eyes that would make even Presea feel on edge. Nanoha knew at once why Fate was so hesitant to enter the cabin. The girl gave off an aura of distinct lethality. It felt like she could kill anyone of them with just a glance, something Nanoha had never felt before, not even when going against Stern. Her eyes ranged over Fate, who stiffened, and came to rest on Nanoha. She shook her head.

"Thanks, said Hayate, seemingly oblivious to the girls sense of killer intent.

Nanoha and Fate stowed the three bags and Lucy's cage in the luggage rack and sat down in the bunk, preferably away from the new girl. The new girl watched them over a magazine, which was called Ankhseram. She did not seem to need to blink as much as normal humans. She stared and stared at Nanoha, who had taken the seat opposite her and now wished she had not.

"So did you have a good holiday?" Hayate asked, plopping down next to the new girl.

"I suppose so," the girl said in a monotone, without taking her eyes off Nanoha. "Yes, I guess you could say I had a…good holiday. Did you have a good holiday, Nanoha Takamachi?"

"You know who I am?" said Nanoha.

"Everyone knows who you are," said the girl, turning her eyes upon Fate next. "And you are Fate Testarossa, Heir to the House of Testarossa, and the youngest Brave Duel champion in the last century. And you," she added, turning to Hayate, "I don't know who you are."

"I'm Hayate Yagami, super pervert of Kaiser!" Hayate said with pride in her voice.

"I can't believe you're actually happy about that," said Fate.

"Since you know us, why don't you tell us a little about yourself," Hayate said to the new girl. "I've never seen you before. What year are you in."

"My name is Tokaku Azuma," said the girl called Tokaku. "I'm in fifth year; same as you three. The reason why you've never seen me before is because I'm in Hegemon, and no one pays attention to Hegemon."

"She's not wrong," said Fate.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Toka – " Hayate started.

"Don't!" Tokaku snapped, making Hayate hop backwards. "Ever call me Tokaku."

"O – Okay…Azuma-san," said Hayate nervously.

Tokaku raised her magazine high enough to hide her face and fell silent. Nanoha and Fate looked at each other with their eyebrows raised. Hayate looked crossed between frightened and insulted.

The ship hummed onward, speeding them over the ocean. It was an odd, unsettled sort of day; one moment the cabin was full of sunlight and the next they were passing beneath ominously gray clouds. Hayate made a hesitant glance at Tokaku, who was deeply immersed in her magazine, before she stood up and reached for the overhead rack. She opened her bag, shuffling around looking for something.

"The silence is literally killing me," Hayate mumbled. "I must have packed something to do. Maybe a deck of Sabbac – oh, are you kidding me? I can't believe them!"

"What? What happened?" said Nanoha.

"Agito and Rein," Hayate told them. "They've been trying to smuggle stuff out of the manor to take with them to St. Hilde, but Shamal always caught them. Now they're putting weird shit in my bags – I mean, look at this thing."

After a little bit of rummaging, she pulled out what appeared to be a small gray cactus in a pot, except that it was covered with what looked like boils rather than spines. Nanoha stared at the thing. It was pulsating slightly, giving it the rather sinister look of some diseased internal organ.

"That's an Amestrian Philosopher Plant," said Fate, gaping in awe. "They're very rare and almost impossible to find because they're endangered. Normally you don't find these things outside the black market. I hope Agito and Rein didn't do anything illegal to get it."

Nanoha had chosen that moment to rigidly silent, not daring herself to look at Fate or Hayate. Tokaku's narrowed eyes appeared over the top of her magazine again, watching Hayate as she poked at one of the plant's boils with her forefinger. The Philosopher Plant jiggled under her touch, like a very unappetizing mold of Jell-O.

"Does it – er – do anything?" Hayate asked.

"The sap of a Philosopher Plant has special healing properties," said Fate. "It can close all open wound and relieve a person of most illnesses. Though the tricky part is getting the sap out carefully. The Philosopher Plant has a very tricky defense mechanism, so whatever you do, don't – "

At that moment, Hayate gave the plant a hard poke at one of the boils. Liquid squirted from every boil on the plant, thick, stinking, dark-green jets of it; they hit the ceiling, the window, and spattered Tokaku Azuma's magazine. Fate, who had flung her arms up in front of her face just in time, merely looked as though she was wear a slimy green hat, and Scarlet was naturally untouched, having taken cover behind her owner. But Nanoha, who did not have quick reflexes like her friends, received a face full. It smelled like rancid manure.

Hayate, whose face and torso were also drenched, shook her head to get the worst out of her eyes.

"…do that," Fate finished dully. "Don't worry, though, the sap is not poisonous or anything," she added, as Nanoha spat a mouthful onto the floor."

"Uh…hey, Nanoha," said a nervous voice. "Um…bad time?"

Nanoha wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. A rather handsome looking boy with sunny blonde hair was standing in the doorway, grinning at her: Naruto Uzumaki, the Ace of Hades Riot Force team.

"Oh…hi," said Nanoha blankly.

"Um…," said Naruto. "Um…I kinda got lost on the way to my cabin. Do you know where 27R is?"

Naruto pointed down the hall and Naruto nodded. He closed the door again and departed. Nanoha slumped back in her seat and groaned. She really wished the boy she had a crush on since third year did not walk in on her sitting across from the killer Tokaku, covered in stinky plant sap.

"Never mind," said Hayate bracingly, pulling out the Tome of the Night Sky. Nanoha fidgeted at the sight of the book, waiting for it to attack. It didn't. "Look, I can get rid of all this easily. I've been getting better at cleaning spells lately…for no particular reason what so ever," she added, red faced._ "_**Säubern**!"

The sap vanished.

"There, no harm done," said Hayate cheerfully, ignorant to Tokaku's glare.

Teana and Subaru did not turn up for nearly an hour, by which time the food cart had already gone by. Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate had already finished their tea cakes and were busy swapping cards when the cabin door slid open and they walked in.

"I'm starving," said Subaru, grabbing a handful of chocolate from Nanoha and throwing herself into her bunk. She ripped open the wrapped, bit the piece in half, and leaned back with her eyes closed as though she had a very exhausting morning.

"Well, there are two fifth-year knights from each House," said Teana, looking thoroughly disgruntled as she took her seat. "And guess who's a Material knight?"

"Yuri," replied Nanoha at once, her worst fear confirmed.

"'course," said Subaru bitterly, stuffing the rest of the chocolate into her mouth and taking another.

"Surprisingly enough, Sasuke Uchiha is also a knight," said Teana. "Though I can't tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing. He doesn't come off as a jackass like most of them, but…."

"Who's in Hades?" Nanoha asked.

"The class couple, Maka Albarn and Soul Even," said Teana, grimacing. "You should have seen those two, acting all lovey dovey in the middle of the meeting."

"Sounds like your jealous," said Fate, smirking mischievously.

"I'm not jealous!" Teana shrieked. She spared a quick look at Subaru, who was still stuffing her face, and hanged her head. "Not jealous at all…."

"Thomas Shepard and William Kaplan for Hegemon – the twins from different families," said Subaru, swallowing hard and checking her watch. "We're supposed to patrol the halls every so often and we can give out punishments if people are misbehaving. I can't wait to get the Florians for something…."

"You're not supposed to abuse your position, Subaru!" said Teana sharply.

"Yeah, right, because Yuri won't abuse it at all," said Hayate sarcastically.

"So we're supposed to stoop to her level?"

"No, but if I was a knight, I'd make sure to get her friends before she gets mine."

"Oh, for Saint King's sake – "

"You should make Amitie do sentences, it'll kill her, she hates writing," said Hayate happily. She screwed up her face in a look of pained concentration and mimed writing in midair. "_I…must…not…look…like…a…monkey's…ass…."_

"**Aw, you're just mad because her boobs are bigger than yours**," said Raising Heart.

Everyone laughed as Hayate shot up, her face red with a mixture of anger and embarrassment, accidentally smacking the magazine out of Tokaku's hand. Everyone in the cabin went deathly quiet. Tokaku was staring at the empty space where she had been holding the magazine previously, her eyes largely unfocused for a moment, before she slowly turned her head towards Hayate, who took a step back. Tokaku didn't say anything; she didn't need to. Her haunting stare alone gave the message quiet clearly: _bother me again, and I will kill you in the most painful way imaginable._

"Er…um…sorry…about that?" Hayate said nervously.

"Hmph!" Tokaku grunted.

Tokaku stood up – the others jumped back – and reached up to the luggage rack and started ruffling through her bag. She wasn't sure, but Nanoha thought she saw a glint of something that looked like a knife. She chose, very wisely, to redirect her focus to the magazine on the floor, and noticed something that made her dive for it. On one of the articles was fairly bad cartoon of Largo Kiel; Nanoha only recognized him because of his ridiculously long beard. One of Admiral Kiel's hands was clenched around a bag of money; the other hand was throttling a Mariage. The cartoon was captioned: HOW FAR WILL KIEL GO TO GAIN REICTUM?

Flipping to the index of the magazine, she saw a list of titles for the other articles.

**CORRUPTION IN THE RIOT FORCE LEAGUE:  
>How the Vipers Are Taking Control<strong>

**SECRETS OF THE ANCIENT RUNES REVEALED**

**RED-PAW: Villain or Victim?**

"Can I have a look at this?" Nanoha asked Tokaku eagerly.

"It's not mine, anyway," said Tokaku distractedly.

Until this moment Nanoha had completely forgotten the magazine Wendi had handed Zafira to give to Arf, but it must have been this edition of the Ankhseram. She found the page as Scarlet climbed on top of her shoulder, staring curiously at the words.

This too was illustrated by a rather bad cartoon; in fact, Nanoha would not have known it was supposed to be Arf if it hadn't been captioned. The person that was supposed to be Arf was a very shaggy man standing on a pile of human bones, waving a stick around. The headline on the article read:

**Red-Paw – As Bloody As His Name?  
>Notorious Mass Murderer OR Innocent Singing Sensation?<strong>

Nanoha had to read this sentence several times before she was convinced that she had not misunderstood it. Not only was Arf not a man or a notorious mass murderer, but she was fairly certain that she wasn't a singing sensation either. The more that she looked between the headline and the cartoon of Red-Paw, the more Nanoha was convinced that they were talking about something else entirely. Over her shoulder, she could hear Scarlet snickering under her breath.

For fourteen year Red-Paw has been believed guilty of the mass  
>murder of twenty-three people. Red-Paw's audacious escape from<br>Gefangnis two years ago has led to the widest manhunt ever  
>conducted by the Time-Space Administration Bureau. None of<br>us had ever questioned that he deserves to be recaptured and  
>handed back to the Heartless.<p>

BUT DOES HE?

Startling new evidence had recently come to light that Red-Paw  
>may not have committed the crimes for which he was sent to<br>Gefangnis. In fact, says Doris Dumbwit, Red-Paw may not even  
>have been present at the killings<p>

"What people don't realize is that Red-Paw is a stage name," says  
>Mrs. Dumbwit. "The man people believe to be Red-Paw is actually<br>Rudolph Stubbly, lead singer of the popular singing group, The  
>Weiner-Schnitzel, who retired from public life after being struck<br>by lightning at a concert in Little Big City nearly fifteen years ago.  
>I recognized him the moment I saw his picture in the news. Now,<br>Rudolph couldn't possibly have committed those crimes, because  
>on the day in question he happened to be enjoying a romantic<br>candlelit dinner with me. I have written the Time-Space Administration  
>Bureau and am expecting him to give Rudolph, alias Red-Paw, a full<br>pardon any day now."

Nanoha finished reading and stared at the page in disbelief. This had to be a joke. Not only was Arf already pardoned for her crimes, but she certainly wouldn't have been old enough to be have had a candlelit dinner with an old married woman fourteen years ago. Nanoha looked at Scarlet, who had fallen off of Nanoha's shoulder and was rolling around in a fit of laughter, causing everyone in the cabin to stare. Nanoha flicked back a few pages and found the piece on Admiral Kiel.

Largo Kiel, of the Time-Space Administration Bureau's High Council, denied  
>that he had any plans to take over the running of the interdimensional bank,<br>Reictum, when he was appointed to the High Council seven years ago. Kiel has  
>always insisted that he wants nothing more than to "cooperate peacefully" with<br>the guardians of our finances.

BUT DOES HE?

Sources close to the High Councilor have recently disclosed that Kiel's  
>dearest ambition is to seize control of the Mariage credit supplies and<br>that he will not hesitate to use force if need be.

"It wouldn't be the first time, either," said a Bureau insider. "Largo  
>'Hang-Man' Kiel, that's what his friends call him, if you could hear him<br>when he thinks no one's listening, oh, he's always talking about the  
>Mariages he's had done in; he's had them drowns, he's had them<br>dropped off buildings, he's had them poisoned, he's had them  
>cooked in pies…."<p>

Nanoha did not read any further. Admiral Kiel might have many faults but Nanoha found it extremely hard to imagine him ordering Mariages to be cook in pies. She flicked through the rest of the magazine. Pausing every few pages she read an accusation that the Volstagian Vipers were winning the Riot Force League by a combination of blackmail, illegal substances, and torture; an interview with a man who claimed to have ripped a hole in the fabric of time with a pair of safety scissors and brought back a velociraptor to prove it; and an article on ancient runes, which, according to the magazine, if you turned the runes on their heads they reveal a spell to make your enemy's heads turn into tomatoes. In fact, compared to the rest of the articles in the Ankhseram, the suggestion that Arf might be the gender-confused lead singer of the Weiner-Schnitzels was quite sensible.

"Anything good in there?" asked Fate as Nanoha closed the magazine.

"Of course not," said Teana scathingly, before Nanoha could answer, "the Ankhseram is a load of crap. Only a dumbass would read that load of trash willingly."

"My girlfriend likes that magazine," said Tokaku coldly.

The cabin suddenly became fifty degrees colder.

"I – oh," said Teana, looking terrified. "Did I say dumbass? I meant, they whoever reads the Ankhseram must be real special and – please don't hurt me!" she added, throwing her hands over her head.

"I'll have that back, thank you," said Tokaku, and leaning forward she snatched it out of Nanoha's hands. Rifling through it to page fifty-seven and disappearing behind it, just as the cabin door opened for a third time.

Nanoha looked around; she had expected this, but that did not make the sight of Yuri Eberwein flanked by her cronies Amitie and Kyrie any more enjoyable. Though what struck Nanoha was odd was that Yuri didn't have her usual swagger. In fact, if she thought about it, Yuri looked paler than usual, almost like a ghost.

"What?" said Hayate aggressively, before Yuri could open her mouth.

"Manners, Yagami, or Yuri'll have to give you detention," said Kyrie, who struck Nanoha as even more odd as the Florian Twins usually stood silently in the background. "You see, she, unlike you, has been made a knight, which means that she, unlike you, has the power to hand out punishments."

"Yeah," said Hayate, "but she, unlike me, doesn't look like hot crap on a stick, so get out and leave us alone."

Fate, Teana, Subaru, and Scarlet laughed. Nanoha did not. She was too preoccupied with Yuri, who looked like she was about to throw up.

"How does it feel being second place to Nakajima, Takamachi?" Amitie sneered.

"Shut it!" said Teana sharply.

"Looks like we touched a nerve," said Kyrie, smirking. "Well, just watch yourself, Takamachi, because she'll be watching your every move in case you step out of line."

"Get out!" said Teana, standing up.

Sniggering, the Florian Twins gave Nanoha's group a last malicious look and departed, Yuri crammed between them. Before Teana slammed the cabin door behind them, Nanoha caught a look in Yuri Eberwein's eye that made her stomach drop. It was a look of utter fear that was desperately pleading for help. It was a look that Nanoha had come to know after many years at St. Hilde, but never would she had expected it to come from Yuri Eberwein.

"Don't worry about her, Nanoha-san," said Subaru, who had clearly not noticed Yuri like she did. "She won't do anything as long as we're around."

Everyone else fell back into their usual thread of conversation, but Nanoha wasn't paying attention as she stared out of the window.

She had never seen Yuri Eberwein is such a state before, not even back in their first year when Nanoha had cornered her during their first flying lesson. Yuri typically walked through the halls with a confident swagger, acting like she owned the school, and would never waste a moment to insult Nanoha and her friends.

And then Stern returned two months ago. She remembered clearly the look of fear on Yuri's face when she told her that Stern the Destructor had risen from the dead. Since Yuri's mother was a Hellion, and an unknowing pawn in Stern's game, she knew Yuri was bound to receive confirmation sooner or later. From the looks of it, she didn't take the news very well.

The weather remained undecided as they traveled farther and farther north. Rain splattered the windows in a halfhearted way, then the sun put in a feeble appearance before cloud drifted over it once more. When darkness fell and the lights came on inside the cabin, Tokaku rolled up the Ankhseram, put it carefully away in her bag, and took to staring at everyone in the cabin instead.

Nanoha was sitting with her forehead pressed against the ship window, trying to get a first distant glimpse of St. Hilde, but it was a moonless night and the rain-streaked window was grimy.

"We'd better change," said Fate at last, and all of them pulled on their Barrier Jackets with the exception of Tokaku, who remained dressed in a standard white shirt and plaid skirt. Teana and Hayate pulled their knight bands carefully up their arms. Nanoha saw Subaru checking how it looked in the black window.

At last the Arthra began to descend and they heard the usual racket up and down it as everybody scrambled to get their luggage and pets assembled, ready for departure Teana and Subaru were supposed to supervise all this, so they were the first to leave the cabin.

They shuffled out of the cabin feeling the first sting of the night air on their faces as they joined the crowd in the hallway. Slowly they moved toward the lowering ramp. Nanoha could smell the pine trees that lined the path down to the lake. He stepped down onto the platform and looked around, listening to the familiar call of "First years over here….First years line up over here…c'mon, move you butts!"

A lantern came swinging toward Nanoha and by its light she saw the wide eyes and bowl-shaped haircut of Schach Nouera, teacher of Magical Zoology and Carim's right hand in the Saint Church.

"Good to see Schach's still here," said Hayate. "You think that means Erio and Caro are back from their mission?"

"I don't know," said Fate, "but we'd better get out of the way, we're blocking the ramp."

"Oh yeah…"

Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate became separated as they moved off along the platform and out through the station. Nanoha tried to push back; she wanted to talk to Schach for a moment – seeing Schach again had been one of the things to which she had been looking forward most. But the wave of students was overpowering and she was ushered through the narrow doorway onto the road outside with the rest of the crowd.

She looked around for Fate and Hayate or even Teana and Subaru, but none of them were anywhere near her, so she allowed herself to be shunted forward onto the dark rain-washed road outside the Belkan District Station.

Here stood the hundred or so horseless stagecoaches that always took the students above first year up to the church. Nanoha glanced quickly at them, turned away to keep a lookout for Fate and the others, then jumped back to do a double take.

The coaches were no longer horseless. In fact, they weren't horses at all. There were creatures standing between the carriage shafts; if she had to give them a name, she would think that monsters or demons were too kind of a word to describe these abominations. They were shaped like humans – woman, Nanoha could tell by their body figures – but they were skinless, like something had recently peeled their flesh off. Maggots and worms were digging in an out through its exposed muscles and organs, making Nanoha very sick to her stomach. Their faces were obscured by brittle-looking, straw-colored hair, but Nanoha could still feel their empty sockets staring at her. There was a giant hole in the center of the monster's chest where its still-beating heart was hanging by four steel chains and a large padlock.

Nanoha turned away from the monsters and covered her mouth, feeling very sick right now. She could not understand why the coaches were being pulled by these horrible monstrosities when they were quite capable of moving along by themselves.

"You okay, Nanoha-san?" said Subaru, patting Nanoha's back. "You look like you're going to be sick."

"I'm fine….I'm fine...," said Nanoha, panting lightly. "Just a little…just a little shook up is all."

"If you say so," said Subaru, sounding worried. "But if you start feeling funny, let me know…."

A short distance away, Yuri Eberwein and her gang of Amitie, Kyrie, and Larxene Éclair, was pushing some timid-looking second years out of the way so that they could get a couch themselves. Seconds later Teana emerged panting from the crowd.

"Yuri's bunch were being absolute jerks to a first year back there, I swear I'm going to report them, she's only had her badge for three minutes and she's using it to bully people worse than ever…."

"Actually, it looks Larxene and the others are getting more out of this than Yuri," said Nanoha. "Either of you seen Fate-chan or Hayate?"

"Yeah, here they come now," said Teana.

Hayate had just emerged from the crowd followed by Fate, clutching a squirming Scarlet.

"Thanks for waiting," said Fate. "Come on, let's get a carriage before they all fill up…."

"What are those things, d'you think?" Nanoha asked Hayate, nodding at the horrible abominations as Fate, Teana, and Subaru were already heading off towards the nearest unoccupied coach.

"What things?"

"You know, those…things," Nanoha said, as she and Hayate made for the carriage in which Fate and the others were already sitting.

"What things?"

"Those monster things pulling the carriages!" said Nanoha impatiently; they were, after all, about three feet from the nearest one; it was watching them through its strawlike hair. Hayate, however, gave Nanoha a perplexed look.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about – look!"

Nanoha grabbed Hayate's arm and wheeled her about so that she was face-to-face with the skinless monster. Hayate stared straight at it for a second, then looked back at Nanoha.

"What am I supposed to be looking at?"

"At the – there, between the shafts! Harnessed to the coach! It's right in front – "

But as Hayate continued to look bemused, a strange thought occurred to Nanoha.

"Can't…can't you see them?"

"See what?"

"Can't you see what's pulling the carriages?"

Hayate looked seriously alarmed now.

"Are you feeling all right, Nanoha?"

"I…yeah…"

Nanoha felt utterly bewildered. The skinless abomination was there in front of her, its dripping blood gleaming solidly in the dim light issuing from the station windows behind them, vapor rising through its mouth behind the strawlike hair in the chilly night air. Yet unless Hayate was faking – and it was a very feeble joke if she was – Hayate couldn't see it at all.

"Shall we get in, then?" said Hayate uncertainly, looking at Nanoha as though worried about her.

"Yeah," said Nanoha. "Yeah, go on…"

"You're not going insane, if that's what you're wondering," said a monotone voice from beside Nanoha as Hayate vanished into the coach's dark interior. "They can't see them, not like you and I can. Only people with damaged hearts can see them."

"You can see them?" said Nanoha desperately, turning to Tokaku. "Those…skinless women...things…? You can see them? What do you mean damaged hearts?"

"I've been able to see them since the first day," said Tokaku. "They take different forms depending on the person who sees them. For you, it's a skinless woman, but for me it's...We should probably hurry into the carriage, we're holding up the line."

Not sparing a glance at Nanoha, Tokaku climbed into the musty interior of the carriage after Hayate. As she followed her inside, Nanoha couldn't help be ask: what did Tokaku see?

* * *

><p><strong>Barely ten minutes in and the school year has already taken a chilling turn. With the sudden appearance of these disfigured and horrifying monsters, one can only imagine what waits for Nanoha in the coming months. In the next chapter, the school year officially begins, but Nanoha is met with adversity from both students and teachers alike. What are these terroify creatures that have suddenly appeared after five years? What is the meaning behind this "damaged heart" that allows them to be seen? And what is it that Tokaku sees in them? Find out in the next chapter of the Fairy Tail!<strong>

**Please, read and review.**


	11. The Godess's New Song

**Nanoha and the Fairy Tail**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
>Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter Eleven: The Goddess's New Song<span>**

Nanoha did not want to tell the others that she and Tokaku could see monsters that no one else could, if there were any monsters to begin with, so she said nothing about the fleshless women as she sat down inside the carriage and slammed the door shut behind her. Nevertheless, she could not help watching the silhouettes of the monster's eerie movements beyond the window.

Rattling and swaying, the carriages move in convey up the road. When they passed between the tall stone pillars topped with gilded snow leopards on either side of the gates to the church grounds, Nanoha leaned forward to try and see whether there were any lights on in Schach's shack by the forbidden Forest, wondering if Erio and Caro were back from their mission, but the grounds were in complete darkness. The St. Hilde church, however, loomed ever closer: a towering mass of turrets, egg-white stones against the dark sky, here and there a window blazing fiery bright above them.

The carriages jingled to a halt near the stone steps leading up to the oak front doors and Nanoha got out of the carriage first. She turned again to look for lit windows down by the forest, but there was definitely no sign of life within the shack. Unwillingly, because she had half hoped they would have vanished, she turned her eyes instead upon the strange, fleshless monstrosities standing quietly in the chill night air, red droplets dripping down their exposed organs and onto the dirt.

Nanoha had once before had the experience of seeing something that Hayate could not, but that was a reflection in a glass ball, something much more insubstantial than a hundred very solid-looking monsters strong enough to pull a fleet of carriages. And if what Tokaku said was true, then the monsters had always been there, but invisible; why, then, could Nanoha suddenly see them, and why could Hayate not?

"Are you coming or what?" said Hayate beside her.

"Oh…yeah," said Nanoha quickly, and they joined the crowd hurrying up the stone steps into the church.

The entrance hall was ablaze with the light of the miniature suns and echoing footsteps as the students crossed the flagged stone floor passing the statue of Olivie Sägebrecht for the double doors to the right, leading to the Great Hall and the start-of-term feast.

The four long House tables in the Great Hall were filling up under the starless black ceiling, which was just like the sky they could glimpse through the high windows. Miniature suns floated in midair all along the tables, illuminating the faces of Shinigami who were dotted about the Hall and the students talking eagerly to one another, exchanging holiday news, shouting greetings at friends from other Houses, eyeing one another's new haircuts and clothes. Again Nanoha noticed people putting their heads together to whisper as she passed; she gritted her teeth and tried to act as though she neither noticed nor cared.

Tokaku had disappeared; she probably went to join others at the Hegemon table. The moment they reached Kaiser's table, they heard Vita being hailed by some fellow fourth years and left to sit with them; Nanoha, Hayate, Fate, Teana, and Subaru found seats together about halfway down the table between Captain Hitsugaya, one of the two Gotai 13 captains, and Axel Lea and Rex Salazar, the last two of whom gave Nanoha airy, overly friendly greetings that made her quite sure they had stopped talking about her a split second before. She had more important things to worry about, however: She was looking over the students' heads to the staff table that ran along the top wall of the Hall.

"They're not here."

Fate and the others scanned the staff table too.

"They still aren't back yet?" said Fate, sounding slightly anxious.

"They've been gone for three months now," said Hayate. "I know dragons are tough, but they can be reasoned with. And they have two Dragon Slayers with them."

"I noticed that Rogue Chaney isn't at the Material table either," said Teana, staring across the Hall.

"You don't think they're…_hurt_, or anything, do you?" said Subaru uneasily.

"No," said Nanoha at once.

"But where are they, then?"

There was a pause; Nanoha didn't know what to say. She wanted to say they were, to remind them that Sting Eucliffe was with them and she knew personally how strong he was, but Nanoha couldn't bring herself to do it. Whatever their mission was, the idea that it required two Dragon Slayers meant it must be dangerous.

Teana, biting her lip, looked up and down the staff table as though hoping for some conclusive explanation of Erio and Caro's absence.

"Who's _that_?" she said sharply, pointing toward the middle of the staff table.

Nanoha's eyes followed hers. They lit first upon Carim Gracia, sitting in her high-backed golden chair at the center of the long staff table, wearing her Saint Church nun's uniform. Carim's head was inclined toward the man sitting next to her, who was talking into her ear. He looked, Nanoha thought, like somebody's burly uncle: large, rotund, and silvery-gray hair that had been cut short and neatly like a man who had recently been drafted into the American military. Then he turned his face slightly to take a sip from his glass and she saw, with a shock of recognition, a grizzly beard of gray hair beneath a pair of prominent, pouchy eyes.

"It's that Gaiz man!"

"Who?" said Subaru.

"Regius Gaiz, commander of the Capital Defense Corps," said Fate, leering. "He works close to the TSAB High Council."

"She works for Admiral Kiel?" said Teana, frowning. "What on Mid-Childa is he doing here, then?"

"Don't know…"

A moment later, Schach appeared through the door behind the staff tables, working her way along the end and took her seat next to Hashirama, the Environmental Studies teacher. That meant that the first years must have made it safely through the forest and reached the church, and sure enough, a few seconds later, the doors from the entrance hall opened. A long line of scared-looking first years entered, led by Linith-Sensei, who was carrying a burlap sack.

The buzz of talk in the Great Hall faded away. The first years lined up in front of the staff table facing the rest of the students, and Linith-Sensei opened the sack, pulling out an old and heavily scratched crystal.

The first years' face glowed palely in the sunlight. A small boy right in the middle of the row looked as though he was trembling. Nanoha recalled, fleetingly, how terrified she had felt when she had stood there, waiting for the unknown test that would determine which House she belonged.

The whole school waited with bated breath. Then the crystal floated out of Linith-Sensei's hands and bathed the Hall in a pleasant blue light. A beautiful blonde woman dressed in white floated silently over the Hall before she opened her mouth and sang with a voice that could only be compared to a chorus of angels.

_In times of old when I was new  
>And St. Hilde barely started<br>The founders of our noble school  
>Thought never to be parted:<br>United by a common goal,  
>They had the selfsame yearning,<br>To make the world's best magic school  
>and pass along their learning.<br>"Together we will build and teach!"  
>The four good friends decided<br>And never did they dream that they  
>Might someday be divided,<br>For were here such friends anyway  
>As Olivie and Claus?<br>Unless it was the second pair  
>of Ixpellia and Natchwal?"<br>So how could it have gone so wrong?  
>How could such friendships fail?<br>Why, I was there and so can tell  
>The whole sad, sorry tale.<br>Said Nachtwal, "We'll teach just those  
>Whose ancestry is purest."<br>Said Claus, "We'll teach those whose  
>Intelligence is surest."<br>Said Olivie," We'll teach all those  
>With brave deeds to their name,"<br>Said Ixpellia," I'll teach the lot,  
>And treat them just the same."<br>These differences cause little strife  
>When first they came to light,<br>For each of the four founders had  
>A House in which they might<br>Take only those they wanted, so,  
>For instance, Nachtwal<br>Took only pure-blood mages  
>Of great cunning, just like him,<br>And only those of sharpest mind  
>Were taught by Claus<br>While the bravest and the boldest  
>went to daring Olivie.<br>Good Ixpellia, she took the rest  
>And taught them all she knew,<br>Thus the Houses and their founders  
>Retained friendships firm and true.<br>So St. Hilde worked in harmony  
>For several happy years,<br>But then discord crept among us  
>Feeding on our faults and fears.<br>The Houses that, like pillars four,  
>Had once held up our school,<br>Now turned upon each other and,  
>Divided, sought to rule.<br>And for a while it seemed the school  
>Must meet an early end,<br>What with dueling and with fighting  
>And the clash of friend on friend<br>And at last there came a morning  
>When old Nachtwal departed<br>And though the fighting then died out  
>He left us quite downhearted<br>And never since the founder four  
>were whittled down to three<br>Have the Houses been united  
>As they once were meant to be.<br>And now the Goddess of Destiny is here  
>And you all know the score:<br>I sort you into Houses  
>Because that is what I'm for,<br>But this year I'll go further,  
>Listen closely to my song:<br>Though condemned I am to split you  
>Still I worry that it's wrong,<br>Though I must fulfill my duty  
>And must quarter every year<br>Still I wonder whether sorting  
>May not bring the end I fear.<br>Oh, know the perils, read the signs,  
>The warning history shows,<br>For our St. Hilde is in danger  
>From external, deadly foes<br>We must untie inside her  
>Or we'll crumble from within.<br>I have told you, I have warned you….  
>Let the Sorting now begin.<em>

The goddess ended her song; applause broke out, though it was punctured, for the first time in Nanoha's memory, with muttering and whispers. All across the Great Hall students were exchanging remarks with thei4r neighbors and Nanoha, clapping along with everyone else, knew what they were talking about.

"Breach out a bit this year, hasn't she?" said Hayate, her eyebrows raised.

"Too right it has," said Subaru.

The Goddess Cosmos usually confined herself to describing the different qualities looked for by each of the four St. Hilde Houses and her own role in sorting them; Nanoha could not remember it ever trying to give the church advice before.

"I wonder if it's ever given warnings before?" said Teana, sounding slightly anxious.

"Yes, indeed," said Captain Hitsugaya knowledgeably. "Cosmos feels herself honor-bound to give the church due warning whenever she feels – "

But Linith-Sensei, who was waiting to read out the list of first years' names, was giving the whispering students the sort of look that scorches. Captain Hitsugaya placed a finger to his lips and sat primly upright again as the muttering came to an abrupt end. With a last frowning look that swept the four House tables, Linith-Sensei lowered her eyes to her paper and called out,

"Azrael, Michael." The terrified-looking boy Nanoha had noticed earlier stumbled forward and kneed at Cosmos' feet. Cosmos touched his head for a moment, peering through his mind and heart, then shouted, "_KAISER_!"

Nanoha clapped loudly with the rest of the Kaiser House as Michael staggered to their table and sat down, looking as though he would like very much to sink through the floor and never be looked at again.

Slowly the long line of first years thinned; in the pauses between the names and Cosmos' decisions, Nanoha could hear Hayate's stomach rumbling loudly. Finally, "Zenophius, Rose" was sorted into Hades, Cosmos evaporated back into her crystal and Linith-Sensei took her away Carim Gracia rose to her feet.

Nanoha was somehow soothed to see Carim standing before her them all, whatever her recent bitter feelings toward her headmistress. Between the absence of Erio and Caro and the presence of those invisible monsters, she had felt that her return to St. Hilde, so long anticipated, was full of unexpected surprises like jarring notes in a familiar song. But this, at least, was how it was supposed to be: their headmistress rising to greet them all before the start-of-term feast.

"To our newcomers," said Carim in a ringing voice, her arms stretched wide and a beaming smile on her lips, "welcome! To our old hands – welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but this is not it. Dig in!

There was an appreciative laugh and an outbreak of applause as Carim sat down neatly and the food appeared out of nowhere, so that the five long tables were groaning under joints and pies and dishes of vegetables, bread, sauces, and verities of fruity drinks.

"Awesome," said Hayate, with a kind of groan of longing, and she seized the nearest plate of steaks and began piling them onto her plate, watched wistfully by Captain Hitsugaya.

"What were you saying before the Sorting?" Fate asked the captain. "About Cosmos giving warnings?"

"Oh yes," said Captain Hitsugaya, who seemed glad of a reason to turn away from Hayate, who was now eating roast potatoes with almost indecent enthusiasm. "Yes, I have heard Cosmos give several warnings before, always at times when she's senses periods of great danger for the church. And always, of course, her advice is the same: Stand together, be strong from within."

"Ow kunnit nofe skusin danger ifzat?" said Hayate

Her mouth was so full Nanoha thought it was quite an achievement for her to make any noise at all.

"What?" said Captain Hitsugaya, stupefied.

"She asked how she can know if the school is in danger," Teana answered casually. She noticed everyone staring at her and added, "I live in the same house as Subaru, Nove, and Wendi. It's like learning a second language."

"Well, that's a weird talent," said Captain Hitsugaya. "As for Cosmos, I can't tell you how she knows, but she does live in Carim-Sama's office, so I suspect she picks things up there."

"And it wants all the Houses to be friends?" said Subaru, looking over at the Material table. "Fat chance."

"Well, now, you shouldn't take that attitude," said Captain Hitsugaya reprovingly. "Peaceful cooperation, that's the key. We Shinigami, though we belong to different squads, maintain links of friendship. In spite of everything, I would never dream of seeking an argument with Captain Suì-Fēng or Captain Zaraki."

"Only because you're terrified of them," said Nanoha.

Captain Hitsugaya went strangely quiet after that, suddenly taking an interest in a conversation on the other end of the table shared between Nanoha's kohai and biggest fans, Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka.

When all the students had finished eating and the noise level in the hall was starting to creep upward again, Carim got to her feet once more. Talking ceased immediately as all turned to face the headmistress. Nanoha was feeling pleasantly drowsy now. Her canopy bed was waiting somewhere above, wonderfully warm and soft….

"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices," said Carim. "First years should know that the forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students – and a few of our older students should know by now too. (Nanoha, Fate, and Subaru exchanged smirks).

"Mr. Castle, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four hundred and sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in the hallways between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Castle's office door.

"After per every year, we once again have a new Instructor for the Tactical Combat classes, generously given to us by the Time-Space Administration Bureau, Lt. Gen. Regius Gaiz."

There was a round of polite but fairly unenthusiastic applause that Nanoha right did not join; the memory of the disciplinary hearing was still fresh in her mind.

Carim continued," Tryouts for the House Riot Force teams will take place on the – "

She broke off, looking inquiringly at Lt. Gen. Gaiz, who had stood from his seat and called to attention to himself with a loud cough, looking as though he intended to make a speech.

Carim only looked taken aback for a moment, then she sat back down smartly and looked alertly at Lt. Gen. Gaiz as though she desired nothing better than to listen to her talk. Other members of the staff were not as adept at hiding their surprise. Professor Stein's eyebrows had disappeared into his hairline, and Linith-sensei's mouth was as thin as Nanoha had ever seen it. No new teacher had ever interrupted Carim before. Many of the students were smirking; this man obviously did not know how things were done at St. Hilde.

"Thank you, Headmistress," said Lt. Gen. Gaiz, "for those kind words of welcome."

His voice was as deep and rough as his appearance, like he had been raised by grizzly bears, and again, Nanoha felt a powerful rush of dislike that she could not explain to herself; all she knew was that she loathed everything about him from his stupid voice to his stupid beard. He gave another booming, throat-clearing cough and continued: "Well, it is lovely to be here at St. Hilde Academy of Magic, I must say! I never attended myself, so might I say how _fortunate_ you all our."

There was a tone of venomous contempt and dislike in his voice; Nanoha knew because it was the same tone Presea used whenever she was talking to Nanoha. Lt. Gen. Gaiz cleared his throat again, but when he continued, it sounded much more businesslike and now his words had a dull learned-by-heart sound to them.

"The Time-Space Administration Bureau has always considered the education of young mages to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skill unique to the magical community must be passed down through the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching."

Lt. Gen. Gaiz paused here and made a little bow to his fellow staff members, none of whom bowed back. Linith-Sensei's dark eyebrows had contracted so that she looked positively hawklike, and Nanoha distinctly saw her exchange a significant glance with Professor Stein as Gaiz gave another booming cough and went on with his speech.

"Every headmaster and headmistress of St. Hilde has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historical school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation…"

"**What the hell is he talking about?**" said Raising Heart.

Nanoha had to agree with her sentiment. Her attentiveness was ebbing, as though her brain was slipping in and out of tune. The quiet that always filled the Hall when Carim was speaking was breaking up as the students put their heads together, whispering and laughing. Over at the Hades table, Naruto Uzumaki was chatting animatedly with his friends. A few seats along from Naruto, Maka Albarn was one of the few still staring at Lt. Gen. Gaiz, but she was glassy-eyed ad Nanoha was sure she was only pretending to listen in an attempt to live up to the new knight's band on her arm.

Lt. Gen. Gaiz did not seem to notice the restlessness of his audience. Nanoha had the impression that a full-scale riot could have broken out under his nose and he would have plowed on with his speech. The teachers, however, were still listening very attentively, and Teana seemed to be drinking in every word Gaiz spoke, though judging by her expression, they were not at all to her taste.

"…because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever practices we find that ought to be prohibited."

He sat down. Carim clapped. The staff followed her lead, though Nanoha noticed that several of them brought their hands together only one or twice before stopping. A few students joined in, but most had been taken unawares by the end of the speech, not having listened to more than a few words of it, and before they could start applauding properly, Carim had stood up again.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Gaiz, that was most illuminating," she said, owing to him. "Now – as I was saying, Riot Force tryouts will be held…"

"Yes, it certainly was illuminating," said Teana in a low voice.

"You're not telling me you enjoyed it?" Hayate said quietly, turned a glazed face upon Teana. "That was about the dullest speech I've ever head, and I grew up with Signum."

"I said illuminating, not enjoyable," said Teana. "It explained a lot."

"Did it?" said Subaru in surprise. "Sounded like a load of hot air to me."

"There was some important stuff hidden in the hot air," said Teana grimly.

"Was there?" said Hayate blankly.

"Progress for progress's sake must be discouraged'," Fate repeated in a dry voice. "Pruning whatever we find practices we find that ought to be prohibited. Underneath all those fancy words and extensive explanations is a clear message: the TSAB is trying to take control of St. Hilde."

There was a great clattering and banging all around them; Carim had obviously dismissed the school, because everyone was standing up ready to leave the Hall. Teana jumped up, looking flustered."

"Subaru, we're supposed to show the first years where to go!"

"Oh yeah," said Subaru, who had obviously forgotten. "Hey – hey you kid! Midgets!"

"_Subaru_!

"Well, they are, especially that one – he's a dwarf…."

"Oh for the love of…. First years!" Teana called commandingly along the table. "This way, please!"

A group of new students walked shyly up the gap between the Kaiser and Hades tables, all of them trying hard not to lead the group. They did indeed seem very small; Nanoha was sure she had not appeared that young when she had arrived here. She grinned at them. A blond boy next to Michael Azrael looked petrified, nudging Michael, and whispered something in his ear. Michael Azrael looked equally frightened and stole a horrified look at Nanoha, who felt the grin slide off her face like the stinky sap.

"Let's get out of here," Fate said to Nanoha and Hayate and they made their way out of the Great Hall alone, doing everything they could to ignore more whispering, staring, and pointing as they passed. Nanoha kept her eyes fixed ahead as they wove their way through the crowd in the entrance hall, then they hurried up the marble staircase, took a couple of concealed shortcuts, and had soon left most of the crowds behind. The whole time, none of them spoke.

Nanoha thought she had been stupid not to expect this as they walked through much emptier upstairs hallways. Of course everyone was staring at her: She had emerged from the Grand Magic Games three months ago surrounded by her bloodied and beaten opponents, clutching the dead body of her girlfriend, and claiming to have seen Stern the Destructor return to power, only for her former friend to betray and disprove all evidence. There had not been time last term to explain herself before everyone went home, even if she had felt up to giving the whole school a detailed account of the terrible events on Earth.

They had reached the end of the hallway to the Kaiser common room and had come to a halt in front of the Guardian before Nanoha realized she did not know the new password.

"Er…," she said glumly, turning from Hayate and Fate, both of whom shook their heads.

"No password, no entrance," said the Guardian.

"Honestly, I expected them from Hayate or Takamachi," somone said behind them, and they turned to see Vita jogging toward them, "but I expected you to be better than that, Fate. Lucky for you, I just happen to pass by someone who already knew the password. It's _Amestris_."

"Correct," said the Guardian, and it moves sideways into the wall, revealing a gilded archway behind, which they walked through.

The Kaiser common room looked as welcoming as ever, a cozy circular room full of squashy armchairs, polished round tables, and a billiards table in the corner. A fire was crackling merrily in the grate and a few people were warming their hands before going up to their dormitories; on the other side of the room Agito and Rein were pinning something up on the notice board.

Sitting close to the staircase, Rex Salazar, Ben Tennyson, and Axel Lea were talking, but stopped abruptly the moment they saw her. Nanoha wondered whether they had been talking about her, then whether she was being paranoid.

"Hi," she said.

"Hey, Nanoha," said Ben, who was wiping the face of his watch with a rag. "Good holiday?"

"Not bad," muttered Nanoha, as a true account of her holiday would have taken most of the night to relate and she could not face it. "You guys had a good holiday?"

"Yeah, it was all right," chuckled Rex. "Better than Axel's anyway, h was just telling us."

"Why, what happened, Axel?" Vita asked.

Axel did not answer immediately; he seemed more interested in a the scorch mark on the table surface; someone must have knocked a candle over it. Then he stood up, turning his back to Nanoha as he said, "My mom didn't want me to come back."

"What?" said Hayate.

"She didn't want me to come back to St. Hilde," said Axel, his back still turned on Nanoha.

"But – why?" said Nanoha, astonished. She knew that Axel's mother was a Burner – a mage who specialized in fire magic – and could not understand, therefore, why she should have come over so Henken-like.

"Well," Axel said in a measured voice. "I suppose…because of you."

"What d'you mean?" said Nanoha quickly. Her heart was beating rather fast. She felt vaguely as though something was closing in on her.

"Well," said Axel again, still avoiding Nanoha's eyes," she…er…well, it's not just you, its Carim too…"

"She believes the Daily News?" said Fate, looking outraged. "She thinks Nanoha is a liar and Carim-sama's an old fool?"

Axel turned around to look at them. "Yeah, something like that."

Nanoha said nothing. She was sick of it; sick of being the person who was stared and talked about all the time. If any of them knew, if any of them had the faintest idea what it felt like to be the one all these things had happened to…Mrs. Lea had no idea, the stupid woman, she thought savagely.

"Look…," Axel said, "what _did_ happen that night when…you know, when…with Alicia Testarossa and all?"

Axel sounded nervous and eager at the same time. Ben had been polishing the same spot on his watch for five minutes and Rex was trying to look casual leaning on the table, but his eyes would glance their way every few seconds.

"What are you asking me for?" Nanoha retorted. "Just read the Daily News like your mother, why don't you? That'll tell you all you need to know."

"Don't you talk about my mom like that," snapped Axel.

"I'll talk about anyone who calls me a liar," said Nanoha.

"Don't talk to me like that!"

"I'll talk to you how I want," said Nanoha, her temper rising so fast she reached for Raising Heart. "If you've got a problem being in the same House as me, go and ask Carim-sama if you can transfer somewhere else, stop your mommy worrying – "

"Leave my mother out of this, Takamachi!"

"And here we have the common – hey, what's going on?"

Teana and Subaru appeared through the archway followed by a group of first years. Subaru's wide eyes traveled from Nanoha, who was gripping Raising Heart tightly in her hand, to Axel, who's hands were sparking with tiny embers.

"She's having a go at my mother!" Axel yelled.

"What?" said Teana. "Nanoha wouldn't do that – I mean, sure she talks about Fate's mother, but that's because…"

"Axel's mother seems to believe every word the stinking Daily News writes about me!" said Nanoha at the top of her voice.

"Oh," said Teana, comprehension across her face. "Oh…right."

"You know what?" said Axel heatedly, casting Nanoha a venomous look. "She's right, I don't want to be in the same house as a madwoman. This is supposed to be a place for the brave and true of heart, not a lying Visored like her."

"That's out of order, Axel," said Fate.

"Out of order, am I?" shouted Axel. "You believe all the crap she's come out with about the Dark Queen, knowing what she might have done to _your _sister."

"I believe her _because _of my sister!" said Fate angrily. "Nanoha and Alicia loved each other and I refuse to believe she would harm her in any way!"

"Then you're insane too," said Axel in disgust.

"Yeah? Well consider yourself lucky that we have two knights and a group of first years in the room," said Fate in a low, dangerous voice, slowly moving closer into Axel's face. "Because if they weren't, I would eviscerate you so badly that the Investigative Office won't be able to identify your remains."

Axel looked for a few seconds as though evisceration would be a reasonable price to pay to say what was going through his mind; but with a noise of contempt he turned on his heel, vaulted up the stairway, and slammed the door to the boy's dormitory so hard that the ceiling shook, showering them in dust. Fate turned to loom at Ben and Rex.

"Either of you have a problem with Nanoha?" she said aggressively.

"Hey, I live in Providence," said Rex, shrugging. "With all the EVOs and Bobo's toilet problems, worrying about the Dark Queen is the last thing on their minds."

"My grandpa was friends with Carim back in their school days," piped up Ben. "He says it's the Daily News that's going downhill, not Carim. He's canceled our subscription. We believe Nanoha. My grandpa always said the Dark Queen would come back one day. He syas if Carim says she's back, she's back."

Nanoha felt a rush of gratitude toward Ben. With no one else saying anything, Nanoha went up to the girls dormitory alone; Fate and Hayate seemed to want to stay behind to talk about something without her. Nanoha wondered if she was being paranoid by thinking that her own friends were talking about her behind her back.

As Nanoha stepped into the dormitory room, finding the five canopy beds with different colored hangings forming a circle around the room, she noticed that something different. One the pink bed – the one usually assigned to her – was a letter. There was no address to say who it was from, but there was a stamp on the back: a black star with one tip broken off.

"Stern," Nanoha muttered.

It had been weeks since Stern's last letter on the night the Heartless attacked. Checking to see that no one had followed her up, Nanoha ripped the envelope open with great enthusiasm, unfolded the paper, and read:

_**Dear Nanoha,**_

_**Forgive me for not keeping in contact with you in these last few weeks. Getting a message to the Garden of Time is much more difficult than you would suspect – yes, I knew where you were. Satsuki Kiryuin has always been overly cautious since she was a little girl. I feared that if I sent you a letter, she would have exposed you and suspected you of treason.**_

_**Firstly, I wish to congratulate you on your victory against the Grand Magic Council. Carim was wise to send Presea Testarossa to your aid; her superior intellect, vindictive nature, and her own personal vendetta against the council worked in your favor.**_

_**Secondly, as I am sure you are already aware of by the time you receive this letter, the TSAB is far from pleased with the results of your trial. Now that they have been denied a victory, they are doubling their efforts to undermine Carim by forcing their rule over St. Hilde Academy of Magic. Carim is a smart woman and is under the protection of the Saint Church, but the TSAB are serpents; they will stop at nothing to control St. Hilde and control the fates of its students. I know you're tired of hearing this, but please stay out of trouble. The TSAB will look for every reason to expel you and arrest Carim. DO – NOT – CAUSE – TROUBLE.**_

_**Lastly, there is something of great concern to me as well. My sources say that someone has infiltrated church. I don't know who they are or what they are capable of, but they managed to slip into St. Hilde with Carim and the staff unaware. They may be working for the TSAB or someone else entirely. The fact remains that they could be anyone, even your own friends. As I said in my last letter, be careful and do not trust anyone.**_

_**Nette**_

Nanoha stared at the letter for a moment, lost in thought. Someone had snuck into St. Hilde without Carim realizing it. Nanoha wished she could say that she was surprised, but after meeting Envy and Due, Nanoha was starting to wonder if Carim was as great as everyone says she was.

As Nanoha fell back into bed, reading the letter over again, she played with the idea of showing this to Axel and anyone else who called her a liar. This would be the undeniable proof she needed to get the TSAB and her classmates off her back. But Nanoha knew she couldn't do it; Nette was the only person Nanoha could trust now, the only one who was honest to Nanoha.

With a sigh, Nanoha hid the letter in her bedside drawer just as Fate, Hayate, Teana, and Subaru walked in and started changing. Nanoha watched them, wondering if any of them were secretly another shapeshifter in disguise, or if any of them truly trusted her.

_Guess will find out in the end, won't we_, thought Nanoha miserably, as Fate jumped into bed with Scarlet nesting on her stomach and extinguished the last light in the dormitory. But she wondered how many attacks like Axel's she would have to endure before the time came.

* * *

><p><strong>Nanoha's first day at St. Hilde is off to a miserable start, but looking over her track record, should she really be surprised anymore? But now with the TSAB attempting to force their control over St. Hilde and another assailant having slipped inside the church, Nanoha is going to be on her best behavior. In the next chapter, Gaiz takes over Tactical Combat Instruction, and for the first time ever, Nanoha actually wishes it was Tsukishima teaching. How will Nanoha and her friends respond to the TSAB's blatant interference with their school careers? Will Carim once again find a way to overrule them? And who is this mysterious intruder that has snuck into St. Hilde unnoticed? Find out in the next chapter of the Fairy Tail!<strong>

**Please, read and review.**


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